#although totally cool if you send in other rise characters

[abbeyofcyn]

Thank you everyone, but I've decided to close the submissions as of today 24 March. I hope to draw quite a few drawings ❤️

Ok listen

What if you send me your favorite plushie and Rise turtle and I draw them with it?

[call-me-rucy]

Do you think Professor Layton and Sycamore are color coordinated? I suppose Descole and Layton have a cool vs warm color thing going but I wasn't sure if Sycamore's design related to Layton's design in any obvious way. I think I may be over looking something.

Hey, thanks a lot for this ask, this kind of questions are right up my alley! :D

Before diving in, a disclaimer. I'm not a character designer (although I draw as a hobby) so my info/insight on this matter is merely from the unhinged Layton fan perspective ^^

Second disclaimer: I have already a post that touches about this topic, which can be read here: link. But I believe I will be able to better articulate my thoughts on the topic this time, thanks to the question.

Basically, I believe Layton and Sycamore are indeed color coordinated! And I rise the bet: Sycamore had no right to have the same colours as Layton, but he does.

Here is an image where their palettes are compared. They’re identical!

I think it’s pretty clear they have the same colours, now let’s think, why??

Think of Luke, and Emmy, and Aurora. They all have their distinctive, separate colour patterns. Luke is designed in blue so it can even in tiny pixel distorted form be distingished from Layton at a glance. Emmy follows the same pattern. So why on earth would a character designer so worried about character differentiation give two characters the exact same colours? And more so when one of them is the very main character?! In other words: why isn’t Sycamore color coded green?? (Or white?? Or any other colour??)

And it’s not like it didn’t occur to the character designer. Look at the Decapolice cast, also by Nagano:

The answer I propose is this:

AZRAN LEGACY SPOILERS FOLLOW:

I think this is because the main character of the Professor Layton series is Hershel Layton. And that’s the character that owns the orangey-red and black pallette, the one who screams to us “main character”.

Let me explain: According to the story, the main character of the Layton series was going to be Hershel Bronev. And it is because of this original role of main character that he has the orangey-red and black pallette. And that's so fucking smart.

It would have been so easy to just give design pre-Hershel Layton as the one with the red-black pallete and give the other character another colour. But instead!! The colour goes with the role!! So when Theo takes the role of "Hershel" and "main character", he takes the colours associated with those things, too!!

And this is a bit more watsonian but Hershel gives up the name and the role but not the red-black combo cause they are no other colours for him. So Des keeps his colours (which from a doylistic perspective, he doesn't strictly have to) and Hershel uses Hershel's colours so they both use the same, and also they have the same hair colour and skin colour which totally makes sense. And the Bostonius is the same colour as the Laytonmobile. Because of course it is, they're the same thing!

So here's Desmond Sycamore, a design that copies the professor's main character energy on the basis that he was supposed to be it but is also inspired by Descole's design (see the purple buttons and the shoes) so you see him and he looks like the ultimate rival. (But also Nagano managed to despite using the same colours, make it enough visibly different?? Which is so hard??)

Meanwhile, in a darker timeline where they didn't think the designs as much:

Would still have screamed rival, yes, but it doesn't say "we're made of the same thing" as the true design does.

I think it's impressive, honestly. It's peak storytelling STRICTLY IN COLOUR CHOICES. I wish to be half as good writer/designer as whoever it was that made this call (Nagano or Hino).

And this concludes this session of infodumping. I hope you enjoyed if you stuck enough to read this far.

Thanks again for the question, sweet anon! <3

Please, everyone feel free to send more Layton inquires and/or add your own thoughts to this post. Cheers!

[cherryo]

Heyyy! First time for a request. Was wondering if you could do a reader X Rise!tmnt (or any Tmnt <3) relationship and reader is caught simping for someone (like a character ex: aizawa from MHA or Sam from Spn (supernatural)) if requests are closed or u think this doesn’t have much the TMNT Bois can be jealous 💕💕💕

This is cute 🫣 I went with rise boys but might come back later with the 2012 boys 🫶

Rise!boys getting jealous over fictional crushes hc <33

Warnings: boys get jealous lol

Word count: 2.6k

Raph:

He was just coming over to visit you and heard you giggling

He peaked around to see Jotaro Kujo on the screen

He thought it was cute, no harm in fangirling over characters

I mean he does it too

Although youre not totally off the hook, he teases you all the time about it

“If i stand like Jotaro did would you fangirl over me?”

Does the ‘ora ora’ and Jotaro’s other iconic phrases

I personally feel him and mikey are the most secure in their relationships, the only “insecurity” Raph has is his strength, but thats really just a worry

He loves that you still feel comfortable to admit you have small moments like that <333

Leo:

You two were watching Inside Job, Brett came on the screen and you turned red and giggled a little

He looked at you wondering wtf you were doing and you just shrugged and said you thought he was cute

Was confused, if you have him why do you need to have crushes?

Why did you still fangirl over characters :((

Hes probably the most insecure, he canonly has a ‘cool guy’ facade so he’s probably not too into you fangirling

He gets over his little thing, it takes a second and you agree to stop making it so obvious, he doesnt want you to stop because he doesnt want to control you

He realizes that it’s normal and common and that he even has some celeb/chara crushes, even if he has you

Also teases you, hard lol but he loves you and if you liked the weird dude from inside job then he’s okay with it

He would fr get Bretts apron even if he doesnt bake/cook LMAO

Mikey

HE THINKS ITS SO CUTE

Again him and raph are the most secure, so he legit doesnt care

Wouldnt tease you as much as his other brothers would, but he would still tease you

He would try to catch you watching it alone and would send you memes or posts on social media relating to said character/ celebs

Would definitely want to see the appeal, and he would def be open about his crushes <3

Donnie:

I think he would be much like leo, in a sense he doesn't understand why you need fictional characters to gush over when you have him

You definitely bring up Atomic Lass and he finally gets it, he knows how he acts when she's mentioned

At first though he would definitely say it's not the same, too stubborn to admit he was feeling jealous and was being hypocritical

Needs time and mostly doesnt want to hear about it

Slowly comes through though, he realizes that it's normal and wants to be able to talk to you about it

So if you go to comic con or another convention you'll both be taking photos of respective fictional crush cosplayers

[ordinaryschmuck]

Drabble request: Amity and Luz's first kiss?

(Probably the Sixth or Seventh Time I've Done This, But Oh Well.)

A Normal Request

Luz looked onward to the reading circle in the library. She watched, enthralled by her girlfriend reading so animatedly to a group of kids. Each little youngster hung onto every word. But Luz? She was more focused on their narrator's pretty face.

Amity always looked her most beautiful when reading to kids. Her eyes were lit up with amazement, her reactions were lively for the character she was voicing, and her lips always had a hint of a smile no matter what expression she was pulling. It was that same smile that Luz often found herself staring at the most, lately. A smile that looked sweet, soft...alluring...kissable--

'No, bad Luz!' her inner voice screamed, 'You shouldn't think like that.'

But Luz blinked as a new thought came to her.

'Why not? She is your girlfriend, after all. It's totally normal for you to want to kiss her.'

'Wait a minute,' another inner voice interjected, 'If she's our girlfriend, then why haven't we kissed yet?'

"Hey, Luz."

Luz jumped out of her thoughts with a squeak, finally noticing Amity standing in front of her.

"Oh, hi! Sorry. Got lost in my own thoughts there."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Amity joked, "What were you thinking about?"

Luz felt heat rise in her cheeks at the question, briefly glancing at Amity's lips for a second.

"Uh, nothing! Nothing at all."

And the human would have stuck with her blatant lie if not for the flat look Amity was giving her.

"Luz," she said, "What did we promise after we started dating."

"Be straightforward with each other?"

"..."

"...Right," Luz rubbed the back of her neck as her blush gotten worse, "I was just thinking that...Well, we've been dating for a while, right?"

Amity's beautiful smile returned at the question. Although this one was a lot more dreamlike than the smile before.

"Yeah, we have."

"And we're girlfriends now, right?"

"Mm-hm."

"So, I was, um, I was wondering if...if it's ok to...kiss you."

Amity's dreamlike gaze turned shocked and befuddled in an instant as her eyes became impossibly wide to Luz's request.

"You...you want to kiss me?" the witch squeaked out her question, her own face turning red. Luz, on her part, gave a slow and shy nod in response.

"Do you?"

"YES!"

The surrounding shushes that followed only made both girls turn even ready.

"Sorry," Amity whispered back to the other patrons before giving her full attention back to her girlfriend. "But, uh, yeah. Kissing you. That, um...that's great. Really great. Unless saying that sounded creepy, in which case, it's just...regular great. I guess."

"Oh. Cool," Luz shuffled her feet, "Now, just so we're clear, I can kiss you?"

"Yup."

"And, hypothetically speaking, if I asked, would you let me kiss you...right now?"

"Of course! But not here!" Amity looked around at their surroundings, taking full notice that many eyes were glancing at the couple. "Follow me."

Grabbing Luz by the hand, Amity pulled the human away from the children's area. After a bit of walking, they made it to a familiar part of the romance section.

"Is this--" but before Luz could ask, Amity pulled a book out, revealing her secret hideaway. She then led Luz in and closed the entrance soon after.

"So," Amity made eye contact with her girlfriend, "Do you really want to kiss me?"

"...Yes," Luz nodded.

"And you really want to do it right now?"

"Mm-hm...Can I?"

"Yup! Uh-huh," Amity nodded vigorously, "You can, uh, go right ahead!"

"Oh...cool," Luz stepped closer, "I'll, uh, do just that."

And Luz continued to step closer and closer to the witchling, stopping only until their faces were an inch apart. It was at that moment that both of them froze.

"By the way," Luz said, "I may or may not have zero ideas of what I'm supposed to do."

"Same here," Amity chuckled nervously, "I haven't technically kissed anybody before."

"Technically?"

"Well, I mean, Willow and I sort of kissed once? But it was when we were really young and curious about what kissing felt like. Other than that, yeah, zero real experience here."

"Oh. Ok then. Um, I guess I'll, uh..." Very slowly, Luz raised her hand toward Amity's face, paused, and then quickly rubbed her palm on her shirt. "Sorry. It's probably really sweaty."

Amity chuckled in response, waiting patiently as Luz's hand cupped the witch's cheek, sending a surge of nervous energy through both of them due to the touch. Gulping down a thick lump in her throat, Luz then leaned closer. And closer. And then, the next thing she knew, all thought left her head entirely.

The kiss wasn't perfect. It was awkward, inexperienced, and was more accurately described as the two girls mushing their lips together than a romantic kiss.

But it still felt amazing to the young couple.

When they pulled away, they simply stared at each other, eyes absolutely gleaming.

"...Can we...do that again?" was the first question that came to Luz's mind.

And was answered by Amity pulling her into another kiss.

And another.

And another. Each kiss after that felt better than the last, with both girls slowly getting a better understanding of what they were doing.

They would have kept at it. That is, until Amity's scroll buzzed, making her pull away to check it. Albeit, reluctantly.

"Um...ok, so...Malphas is wondering...where I am," she said between deep breaths, "I guess...I got so distracted that...I forgot I'm still...on the clock.

"Uh, yeah...I guess," Luz agreed, "But...it was a good distraction...right?"

Amity smiled, going in for another peck on the lips.

"Very good. I'll see you later?"

"If there will be more of that? Definitely."

[osferth]

What’s your opinion on Daemon Targaryen and his love life? Do you think he ever truly loved any of his ladies or was it all just his manipulation tactics to get the throne? From the way i understand it the books often tried to make him look like this grooming manipulative and selfish person who only cared about sitting on the throne and would do anything in order to achieve that but idk.. i think it’s deeper than that and i think he truly did love them. He might’ve been the manipulative person that the books try so hard to make us believe but then again why would he love and care so deeply for Mysaria if all his motivations were just for the throne? Mysaria was just a whore with no reputation and this man was ready to give her a dragon egg so in my eyes he was totally capable of truly loving a person. Even when he met Laena it was written that it was love at first sight but then that some people believed he married her just because of her title 🙄 Anyway i’d love to read your thoughts about this topic because i find it so interesting ☺️

thoughts under the cut bc this accidentally turned out quite long lmaoo

i think daemon truly loved mysaria. he was willing to give mysaria a dragon egg after she became pregnant and that shows to me that he loved her enough to trust her with something as significant as that, as well as the fact that he enabled her rise to power.

daemon marrying laena to begin with was probably out of political ambition, since the velaryons were so powerful, but during their marriage i think he grew to love her, especially after baela and rhaena's birth. i know people found it disrespectful and plain weird that he married rhaenyra in secret so soon after laena and laenor's deaths, but i do think he loved laena while she was alive (it's said he was very distraught when she died and kept vigil at her body all night).

rhaenyra and daemon definitely both loved laena, so i feel like their quick marriage could have been due to a mix of seeking comfort in each other after her death, pregnancy maybe resulting from said comfort (aegon), and also political pressure, since it would ensure that rhaenyra had caraxes and the powerful support of the velaryons - especially after aemond claimed vhagar.

honestly im unsure whether daemon ever truly loved rhaenyra the same way as laena and mysaria, but there was probably some lust and affection involved between them. he clearly also cared for her children, enough to send blood and cheese as revenge for luke's murder (won't discuss the ethics of that rn though lmaoo).

book!daemon definitely did have ambitions for the throne (not sure whether he will in the show), and while he couldn't be king, he could at least be prince consort and eventually see jace on the throne with baela as his queen.

apart from the last point, i feel like this probably motivated him to groom rhaenyra when she was young, but he's not a robot and may have cared for her to some degree - although i don't want to make solid assumptions bc the accounts about that time aren't totally solid lmao

(personally im not the biggest fan of daemon, but i do think he's a cool character and really could be the morally greyest of them all in the show if they do him right!)

[rpgchoices]

Sometimes I really want to read a short summary of what to expect from a game… and thankfully people can also submit their summaries of games they played and help me (and others) find games that cater to their interests!

submitted by @lairofsentinel

(click here for other videogames)

what to expect from  THE DWARVES

Party-based tactical RPG, with a strange and uneasy combat. It adds some “physics-based combat” effects which end up being a disaster. Like you are encouraged to use some powers that push an amount of enemies, who at the same time, push others and so on and on until the last line falls from the bridge or cliff. 

Combat feels like trying to kill a wave of ants. The game wants you to be tactical, but the best technique for these combats is mindless spam of AoE all of the time. 

This is a game based on a book with the same title. According to people who read the book, it’s not an adequate adaptation. 

Because it’s based on a book, the game seems to overuse a lot of names and lore regions, and it expects you to understand all that in context. You have characters who explain the lore and details of this world, but there are so many names that at some point, you get lost. Probably a reader of the books would catch the names more easily. 

If any char dies in combat, you have Game Over, since all the companions participate in the plot. For the worse, you have few and weak means to heal characters during combat. 

The only way to make characters grow in power is by deciding what “power” to strengthen by using a one-branch “tree talent” system. Which is really poor for the amount of enemies you are forced to fight on many occasions. 

In my opinion, the most interesting aspect of this game is its story and plot, although it doesn’t offer anything mind-blowing at all: it’s a typical story a la DnD, with powerful mages fighting against hordes of undead. 

This game allows you to play with several companions. There is little interaction between them, and they are mostly for plot reasons. 

As you explore the map, you have to read a lot:  many times, encounters and situations happening along your travel are just described with text. Only in very specific locations you return to the third person camera within an environment.

The graphics are pretty nice, even though the combat is very exhausting and boring.

  ——- Plot? ——-

You play in the skin of Tungdil Goldhand, a young blacksmith who is the only dwarf in Ionandar. Rised by humans, He learnt all about dwarves through books. Tungdil's "foster father", a respectable mage of Ionandar, sends him on an errand to return some artefacts to one of his former pupils. In his travel he finds some companions that join in his quest in order to receive Tungdil’s help once he is over with this errand. However, when Tungdil  reaches the pupil’s town, he discovers it has been slaughtered and part of its population is now undead. What was supposed to be a simply errand, ends up into a quest to uncover some [not so secret] intrigues that are happening in this world. 

 ——- Gameplay? ——- 

Its gameplay is the usual one in RPGs: isometric camera, pause at any time during combat, you can give orders to your group, deploy special skill attacks set to cool-down timers and see the result of the tactics. This design tends to be solid in most RPGs, but not in this one. Due to the “physics” effect, and the masses of enemies, you need to keep spamming the bigger  AoE powers in order to control the enemy. Basic attack is useless, and companions have a chaotic AI, so using basic strategy and smart party placement is not as useful as making sure that all of your fighters use as many of their special attacks as often as possible. It’s a game of total brutal force when it’s considered to be a tactical one. 

 ——- Characters? ——- 

You play as Tungdil, and more than seven or eight companions will join him [some of them temporarily]. One of them is Androkai, a powerful mage, and the twin dwarves Boendal and Boindil.

 ——- LGBT? ——-

None

——- Sadness level? ——- 

No much really. 

——- Happy ending? Deaths? ——-

Very standard one for DnD: you are rewarded accordingly after your journey of perils. 

[kimberly-spirits13]

Random Characters with Creative/ Designer S/O HC:

Characters: Damian Wayne, Tim Drake, Bart Allen, Conner Kent (RSS), Jamie Reyes

Damian Wayne (Fashion Design):

·      You’d started off your career when you were young

·      Your father wasn’t super supportive of everything and said that you were too young to start a business or what have you

·      So, with approval from your mother, you started one behind his back

·      He didn’t know until one day you ended up treading and going viral with a dress you made for a very famous celebrity

·      At that point he couldn’t stop you and was just impressed that you made it for months without him knowing

·      As long as you were keeping up schooling, it would fly

·      You ended up getting to travel the world and go to fashion week

·      More specifically NYFW

·      New York was the big one

·      That’s where you and Damian met

·      He was there for a business trip with Bruce and saw you at one of the shows the girls dragged him to

·      He was immediately infatuated with you and wanted to meet you

·      Thank the heavens he has sisters who wear your clothes to almost every gala

·      They got to go back stage and talk to you which led to you two exchanging numbers and the rest is history

·      When you started dating it was really hectic

·      You had a few kidnapping scares which made him want to break it off especially after you found out about the entire Robin thing

·      Heeeellllllllll no

·      You didn’t let that happen at all

·      Bruce actually commented and said that if you were that stubborn, Damian should probably keep you

·      Fashion week becomes more tiring and you also hate not being able to see Damian as much

·      He comes and visits though to make sure you don’t throw yourself out a window or something lol

·      When it’s over, you guys always take a long vacation to Lake Tahoe in a house Bruce owns on the Nevada side

·      He loves seeing your studio since it’s so organized and colorful

·      You’ve got walls of mood boards and mannequins with unfinished garments everywhere along with a massive soft couch that one of you is always sprawled out on

·      Sometimes he’ll send you pictures of pretty things he thinks you’d might like which ends up being incorporated into something

·      You taught him how to drape and make his own suit so that Alfred can have a day off

·      If anyone has a wardrobe malfunction and you’re around, you’ve got the needle and thread kit on hand at any given moment

·      Some things in the kit come in handy for picking locks too

·      He thinks it’s hilarious if you ever critique something or just call it straight ugly

·      If you’re at a gala and do it it’s even funnier

·      “Omg...”

·      “What is it beloved?”

·      “The drape and hem of that dress is the most preposterous thing I think I have ever seen. The fabric isn’t even the right material or fit for their shape. How rich are these people? And they can’t afford clothes that look decent on them?” You said giving them the famous inspecting side eye, “Also, who wears pearls with double sided sequins and fur?” “They can’t fix everything sweetie.”

·      *intense snickering from Damian*

Tim Drake (Software/ Web Designer):

·      It’s a match made in heaven

·      The two of you meet at a tech conference

·      He thought that you were such an interesting person to talk to and you had offers from places like MIT

·      You got along so well and then he found that you liked coffee like he did

·      Omg

·      He asked you out in the nerdiest way by making you decipher code on your own computer

·      You were kind of mad since you had been doing some other things for some major companies but after reading the message you determined you were fine with it

·      I mean how could you say no

·      Anyways the date when off great and eventually the media caught heavy wind of what was happening

·      You already knew about the Red Robin thing pretty quickly into the relationship though

·      Tim was a genius and you weren’t far behind

·      It was scary how similar you two were

·      From expressions and shared humor and meme taste, it was everything

·      Staying up together was another thing you did

·      Although, after some time one of you would pass out and the other would go to bed too

·      It was like a competition in sorts of who could stay up the longest but at the same time you needed him to sleep

·      The time he felt most betrayed by you was when you replaced his coffee with decaf

·      You guys just sometimes hang out in his bed tangled up in the weirdest way watching vines or weird movies

·      Totally the couple that would watch the worst rated movies just to laugh at them

·      Damian commented on it once and got a tired middle finger from you once

·      It wasn’t the classiest move however you couldn’t care less and Tim laughed his ass off

·      After that Damian seemed to respect you more

·      You guys probably have matching hoodies or something with really funny or obscure culture references

·      Clingy couple but nothing too over dramatic

Bart Allen:

·      Your designs in architecture went down in text books

·      You were famous for some really amazing builds and constructions

·      You started off by building these really insane LEGO sets or doll houses based off of designs in your notebook

·      Your mother still has the models in the attic which is kind of embarrassing when he sees it but he thinks it’s really cool

·      When he came to your time line he knew immediately who you were

·      He also totally came to you and complimented your work plus some additional hinting at what was going to happen pretty soon

·      Bart was there at the rise of your success

·      He basically was your number one fan the entire time

·      He’ll stay up with you as long as he can when you’re working

·      It’s kind of funny seeing that when you’re designing the things you went down in history for you’ll be stuck on something and he’ll just tiredly recommend what he remembers learning

·      You let him look through the designs sometimes but he understands if you don’t really feel comfortable with it

·      He also knows that in order to do all of this, you’re wicked smart

·      When the cave needed remodeling, you were the first person that they called in

·      The League was very glad that you were there and they didn’t have to pull any strings to get anyone different in

·      Plus, you knew what was needed since you were there all of the time

Kon Kent:

·      You got your start writing

·      It was the best thing that you did to relive stress

·      Once your parents saw that you were such an imaginative child, they got you in a ton of art related classes but you liked writing the most

·      Your writings had won awards before but then you wrote a book and it did amazing

·      So now, that’s what you do

·      Kon secretly actually really likes your books and met you at a book signing

·      Nerd

·      He got your number there and then you realized who he was

·      It was kind of funny cause you were both in that moment of realization like

·      Ohhhhh I know who you are.... kinda thing

·      He finds it hilarious that sometimes you’re just all over the place

·      When doing research your room isn’t terrible messy, it’s just piles and piles of notes and articles

·      You also probably have an expansive collection of literature yourself ranging from all genres

·      You don’t really like him to proof the book, however if you have an idea for something he’s all ears

·      Coffee dates to strange hole in the wall joints

·      Clark really likes you and finds your humor funny in the sense that it’s close to Bruce’s

·      Both very sarcastic and dry

·      Lex is just glad that his son found someone with an intellect

·      You don’t really like Lex though

·      That’s because you hear everything that Kon has to say about him

·      Although, without giving the man too much credit, the charade that he plays on the daily in quite impressive

·      You will never admit it however

·      Ma and Pa love you

·      So does Lois

·      You get along because of the writing

·      Sometimes Kon will just take you to some random part of the world if you need inspiration

·      “Hey wanna fly to Morocco?”

·      “Why not?”

·      You make a day trip out of it but if it’s a long one you’ll stay longer

·      Short distance he’ll fly you himself but overseas or something, he takes one of Lex’s jets

·      He likes to tease you sometimes but will take it easy during the editing phase

·      Those aren’t fun at alllll

·      You get cranky sometimes during that and he just backs off lol

·      He will make you sleep though

·      He doesn’t want you turning into Tim or anything for an extended amount of time

·      Nope

·      Not doing it

Jamie Reyes:

·      The team didn’t know anything about your job as an artist

·      You were internationally revered

·      No one knew of your job but for the boy wonder who saw the paint in your hair

·      Once the team did know however, everyone was amazed

·      You and Jamie were already dating by then though

·      He was always impressed with what you did

·      Laughed when you were covered in paint

·      He lets you paint or draw on his hand

·      You both have matching hoodies or jackets from your clothing line or merch that you painted

·      If you have a YouTube channel, he’s in some of the videos

·      Scarab notes that you have a more creative personality which Jamie responds to with a sarcastic remark

·      Your clothes are partly covered in paint

·      He’ll go to every show

·      During the Reach thing you still stayed with him

I have more parts of the Damian Wayne x reader story coming and also requests but I’m just getting into school which is my priority so that’s why I’ve been a bit more inactive. Anyways I hope you liked this one and I can’t wait to put out more 

[peaxhcringe]

Daichi, Oikawa, and Iwaizumi with an S/O on their period

Characters: Daichi, Oikawa, and Iwaizumi

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: Mentions of blood

A/N: This is my very first headcanon so I apologize if it’s shitty. I only started off with 3, but I will start adding more for each hc. My request are finally open so if you’d like to request you may but please take a look at my rules before you do. Enjoy!!!

P.S- Thank you to my friend @deppressedbrunette for giving me ideas for Oikawa’s and proof reading this. I love you bby 💕

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- This man without fail will always know when you start

- When you first wake up to cramps and notice you had started he’s already at your door with a bag full of snacks

- This man has pads and tampons STOCKED up in his bathroom just for you

- Not embarrassed to go get you pads or tampons if you need any

                                                           •••••

Your morning started off ‘great’ your once clear white sheets were now red, and your lower stomach was serve pain. The sun was just rising as you woke up, your eyes glancing towards the alarm clock that sat on your table. The bright red numbers blinking at 5:40 am, made your roll your eyes. You had to get up for school in less than 2 hours and your uterus felt as if it was being ripped apart.

Letting out a groan you rolled over onto your side, grabbing one of the multiple pillows that you had on your bed and pulled it to your body, holding it tightly trying to soothe your cramps. You knew in the back of your mind your should get up and clean yourself up, but your legs felt so heavy. You let your eyes fall closed, sleep slowly creeping up on you, until a soft ding filled your ears...followed by another then another.

After a couple minutes of not looking at the messages you reluctantly reached you hand over to your phone, unplugging it, before bringing it to your face. The bright light of your phone screen shone in your eyes as you opened them, seeing a couple texts from Daichi.

Dadichi✨

Hey baby you up?

I’ll be at your place soon with some pills and snacks

I’ll see you soon ❤️

A smile crossed you face as your read the texts, just as you began to type back a response you hear a soft knock on your bedroom door. You lift your self up on your elbows as you let out a soft “come in” to the person on the other side.

You watch as the door opens to reveal your boyfriend, a yellow bag hanging from his wrist and a sympathetic look on his face as he notices your hunched up form. You close you eyes once again and shove you face back into the pillow, the scent of the detergent filling your nose.

“Hey baby” He says softly, the door closing with a soft click behind him

The sun now rose rather fully, the soft morning light now shinning into the room give your form an angelic glow. Daichi made his way to you, setting the bag softly on your bedside table.

You groaned in response letting your face dig further into the pillow that you still held tightly to your chest. A soft chuckle filled your ears, before the pillow was softly pulled away from you, a hand placing itself on you shoulder pushing you onto your back. Opening your eyes again you see a soft smile on his as he stand next to your bed.

“Come on, go get changed. I’ll wait for you” He says softly

You groan as you reluctantly lift your body up, Daichi’s hand resting on the back of shoulder to help push you up. Pulling yourself out of bed, your feet touch the soft carpeted floor of your room, the instant coolness of air conditioned room sending goosebumps across your skin. You watch as he walks to your dresser pulling out a pair of shorts and underwear, your cheeks blushing a bright shade of red as he comes back to you. Although he’s has seen you naked and your underwear multiple times it never fails to embarrass you.

After taking your clothes from him and changing you make your way back into your room only to be met with the sight of your bed sheets changed, and Daichi texting someone on his phone. Your shoulders relaxed as you close your door and walk over to your boyfriend. He lowers his phone and throws it onto the bed, before turning around and holding out a glass of water and 2 pills

“Here take these before you lay down”

You swallow the pills, only for your face to scrunch up as a bitter taste fills your mouth. He chuckles as you basically chug the rest of the water trying to get rid of the taste. Setting the glass down onto your bedside table, you watch as he gets onto your bed and laying down on his back, giving you just enough room to cuddle up next to him. You smile at him, before crawling onto the bed and spotting underneath Daichi’s raised arm, your head resting against his chest as he lowers his arm to lay around your back.

Closing you eyes you take a deep breath, taking in his apple shampoo and a hint of his cologne. You smile against his chest, his heat beating in your ear as your cramps begin to lessen.

“Thank you” you mumbled, letting your face dig further into his Karasuno jacket

“You don’t have to thank me baby” he says, pulling your body closer to him, letting one of your legs tangle in with his

There’s a moment of silence as you both lay there just enjoying each others company, until it’s rudely interrupted by your blaring alarm. Your body instinctively shooting out of his grip, and placing a hand on your chest as your eyes widen

“You’re going to miss morning practice” You say, nudging him lightly as he began to drift off

He opens one eye, before smiling at you and pulling you back down against him.

“I texted the guys telling them I won’t be there this morning” He says, as he rolls over onto his side, letting his other arm draped over your side “I left Ennoshita in charge, so they should be okay”

You chuckle into his chest, as you snuggle closer, your legs tangle together as you pull the large duvet over the both of you. The warmth of the blanket adding to the the already comfortable position. You both end up falling asleep next to each other, your heart beats syncing as you drift off.

- He’s VERY aware of your mood swings (you may have yelled at him a couple times) ((more like all day))

- Instead of using an ACUTAL heating pad like Iwaizumi this man instead LAYS on you

- Like his full body weight and everything

- He will just plop down on you and lay there

- “Do you feel better yet babe?”

- In which you deadpan and reply “Thanks, but no❤️”

- Honestly I think he’d be more clingy than you when isn’t he though

                                                          •••••

Thankfully it was the weekend. Both you and Oikawa were having a movie night over at his place as a sort of celebration for winning against Karusuno in the prelims. Although you both invited Iwaizumi to join you both, he only ended up staying for about an hour, before he had left.

You both were laying on his bed, his body against the headboard and your head against his shoulder. He had his laptop placed in the middle of the bed between you, and a small bowl of popcorn next to it. Since the night began you had watched a total of 3 movies out of the plethora of titles Oikawa had. The movies ranged from sic-fi to horror and even a few rom-coms which he was very embarrassed about

Through the night your cramps were slowly getting worse, even though you had taken some pain medication before you came over. In the middle of the 4th movie you had begun to get restless, trying to find a comfortable spot to soothe your cramps.

“I’m sorry” You mumble, after finally stilling your movements

Your were laying against Oikawa, your head resting on his chest, one of your legs tangled with his, and an arm wrapped around his stomach. His arm lowered down against your back, his hand resting on the side of your body.

“Cramps?” He asks simply, his head tilting down towards yours

You don’t move to look at him, as you respond with a simple nod. A soft chuckle rumbles through his throat, before his hand softly pats my shoulder

“Don’t laugh at me” You pout, lifting your head up from his chest “I’m in pain” You continue , letting your head fall back onto his chest

His hand falls from your shoulder before letting itself rest against the small of your back, rubbing it lightly as you cuddle against him more if it was even possible

The movie plays in the background, drowning out the soft groaning that falls from your mouth every now and then.

“Do you need anything?” Oikawa asks, bringing his other hand up, pushing a few strands of hair out of your face

“I could really use a heating pad right about now” You say with a laugh, as you lean into his touch

Without warning you feel Oikawa’s hands on your waist, carefully lifting you and laying you down on the bed. Your back hitting the soft bed carefully. Your eyebrows raise as you watch him crawl in between your legs and hover above you. His brown hair falls in his face, as his hands place themselves on the side of your body. Wordlessly he lays himself down on top of you letting his arms wrap around your mid-section. The smell of his cologne with a tinge of sweat wafts into your nose as his head rests directly in between your breast, his warm breath sending a sharp chill down your body.

“Babe” You laugh, your hand rest on his back as he moves himself closer to you “What are you doing?”

“Do you feel better yet?” He mumbles into your chest, his words vibrating against you

You look down towards him, one of your hands moving to his hair, your fingers lightly brushing at the deep brown strands. A smile crosses your face as his head tilts up to you, an eyebrow raised and a soft gaze in his brown eyes.

“Babe, I love you, but no” You say, watching his face a drop slightly “Thank you for the effort though”

Your fingers continues to run through the soft strands, before he begins to shift on you, moving to get off. As he body leaves yours, you quickly move both your hands to shoulder and push him back down

“Don’t leave” You say as he laughs “You’re warm”

His hands find their way back around you, and his head lays against your chest again, a smile staying on his face.

“So I was helping” He says, happily, only for you to bring your hand to his forehead and flick him “Hey!” He yells, his head lifting back up to see you laughing

“Just lay back down” You laugh, placing your hand on his head and letting it rest against you once more

There’s a moment of a silence as you both just lay their enjoying each other’s company. Your fingertips brushing through his hair while he slowly begins to fall asleep against you. When you finally look down at him you notice his eyes closed, his long lashes falling softly against his cheeks, as he takes in the scent of your clothes. With a smile on your face you carefully lean over, shutting the laptop off, before finally get comfortable underarm him, sleep following not long behind you.

- He’s lowkey embarrassed to buy you pads or tampons

- If you start at school he will def give you his jacket to cover up

- This man would even have an extra skirt or pair of underwear for you at school

- He is ✨prepared✨

- He’d use an ACUTAL heating pad

- Will almost ALWAYS have anything you need

                                                       •••••

You were sitting in your homeroom class, rewriting some notes for an upcoming test in your next class when you moved to get more comfortable in your chair only to feel a surge of warmth in between your legs. Your eyes widened as your body froze, praying to yourself that you didn’t start. You moved around a bit more, before you could feel a rather painful cramp shoot through you.

A hand instantly shot down your lower stomach, pressing lightly to try and soothe it. Your eyes scanned the room to see the teacher looking down at their desk, letting you pick up your phone from your bag to text your boyfriend.

                                                                                                          Iwa 😩

Iwa ❤️

What’s up? You never text me in class

Oh wait

Did you start?

                                                                                                       Yeah 🥺

                                                                      Can you meet me after class?

Iwa❤️

Of course I can

                                                                                 Thank you so much 🥺

                                                                                                  I love you❤️

Iwa❤️

Love you too

The rest of home room felt as if it would never end, the bell feeling as if it would never ring, so when the sweet sound finally filled your ears you let a sigh of relief. You quickly began to pack up your supplies, the uncomfortable wetness that was between your thighs making you feel dirty.

“Y/n” A voice says, following heavy footsteps

You turn your head to see Iwaizumi walking to your desk, his volleyball bag hanging from his shoulders and his jacket in his hands. Your shoulders relaxed as you saw him, your hands closing your bag quickly before standing up out of your chair. Turning to face him, he holds out his jacket, letting your wrap it around your waist to hide any stains that might be showing.

“Thank you” You say quickly, taking his hand in yours as you both being to walk out of the classroom

You walk silently down the hallway, hand in hand, as you try to make your way to the bathroom before next period begins. Your steps echo along the walls, Iwaizumi’s jackets

loosening from your waist making you stop every word and then to tighten it back up. A sigh of relief leaves your mouth and finally make it the bathroom, Iwaizumi handing you his bag before you rush into the bathroom.

Iwaizumi always had stuff prepared for you in case you had started your period in school or if it leaked. He always had a spare skirt and underwear for you and even had pads or tampons for you to use. You knew he mostly likely got made of fun by the other boys on the team for having those things in his locker and bag, but it didn’t matter to him much as long as you okay.

After changing you come out of the bathroom to see him leaning against the wall, his arms crossed across his chest.

“Thank you again” You say, handing his bag and jacket

“Don’t thank me Y/n” He says with a smile, taking the bag from your hand, but leaving his jacket “Keep the jacket in case you need you it again”

You pull the jacket away and pull it to your chest, before smiling at him

“Oh, okay, well I’ll see at lunch then” You say standing on your tiptoes and placing a soft kiss to his lips

“Bye” You wave, as your feet fall to the floor, before you turn around and rush to your next class before the bell rang

[mst3kproject]

Voodoo Island

Leonard Maltin thought this movie was boring, which is, honestly, kind of terrifying.  Its ostensible star is Boris Karloff, who somehow managed to avoid ever being on MST3K, but it was produced by Howard Koch, the director of Untamed Youth, and was written by Richard Laundau, who did the same for Lost Continent (uhoh).  It’s also got Jean Engstrom from The Space Children, and if the voice of the radio operator sounds familiar that’s because it’s 🎶 Adam Weeeeeest.

A hotel company wants to build a resort on a tropical island, but the scouting party they sent never came back – except for one guy, Mitchell, who has been reduced to a catatonic state by whatever it was he saw there.  Worried, the hotelier sends renowned skeptic Mr. Knight to find out if it’s true that the island is under some kind of voodoo curse.  After much wasting of the audience’s time, Knight’s party reaches the island and finds it infested with man-eating plants, coconut crabs, and unfriendly natives.  I wish I could tell you more of the plot, but that’s basically all there is.

Voodoo Island is unusual as bad movies go, in that you don’t actually realize how bad it is until it’s over.  Things that seem to be the plot move merrily along, always feeling like it’s building up to something cool… and then at the last moment it just deflates like a gas station tube man with his fan turned off.  In hindsight, the audience realizes that very little of what they just saw had anything to do with what was supposedly going on. In many ways, you never do find out what was going on at all!

The middle section of this movie is not quite as obviously padded as Lost Continent with its endless rock climbing, but almost all of it is, retrospectively, pointless.  On the first leg of their journey to the island, the party’s plane is caught in a storm and forced to make an emergency landing – only to find that the weather has mysteriously cleared right up!  After repairing their radio they set off again, and nothing much comes of the incident.  They stop on another island where they have trouble hiring a boat, and where somebody puts a curse of some sort on them.  Nothing comes of this.  Later still, their boat stalls out and refuses to start again, even after they’ve cleared a blocked fuel line.  This has no real consequences, because the tide carries them in anyway, and the movie never deals with what happens when they try to leave the island again.

Along for the ride is Mitchell, the guy who was so terrified by what he saw on the island that he hasn’t moved or spoken since. He has a couple of medical emergencies that resolve themselves without long-term consequences, and then simply drops dead before they ever reach the island.  They don’t learn anything from him or his condition.  A similar fate later befalls another character, Finch, but this time the movie ends before he has a chance to either die or snap out of it. Mitchell is only in this movie to make it longer, and possibly so it could claim it had a zombie.

With the movie already half-over, we finally reach this mysterious island.  The group are greeted by a trail of clues that make Knight thing somebody is trying to lead them somewhere… perhaps to answers, perhaps to a trap.  Eventually they’re captured by the natives, but there’s no reason they had to be in a particular place for this to happen – the natives have been following them the whole time and could have intervened at any point.  None of this stuff reads as padding because it feels like it’s going to lead to something.  Again, it’s only when the credits unexpectedly start to roll that you realize almost the whole movie was irrelevant.

Padding is not Voodoo Island’s only problem – the dialogue is awkward at best.  Most of it is on a Revenge of the Sith level, where characters just say exactly what they’re thinking in a way that might have sounded poetic on paper but just doesn’t work out loud.  The boat captain, Gunn, gets a Gunslinger moment in which he narrates his traumatic backstory in a single talking head shot.  Knight is forever going on about Rational Explanations and then suddenly declares his change of heart when confronted with a voodoo doll.  There’s no meat to this arc at all, no sense of Knight questioning his worldview or coming to terms with anything – he just says I do believe! like he’s in a Santa Claus movie and then it’s over.

The worst of both the dialogue and the supposed character arcs occur in the love story.  There are girls in this movie, so of course there has to be a love story, and it’s terrible.  The lady half of this one is Knight’s assistant Miss Adams, who is very poised and professional and doesn’t smoke or drink, and spends the first half of the movie being tutted at by just about everybody.  The other woman in the group, Claire, tells her she could just be so pretty if she’d only change the way she did her hair.  Gunn calls her a ‘machine’ and asks if she even knows how to be a woman.  This raises some hackles in the modern viewer, who wants to see Adams appreciated for what she is rather than what she has the potential to be if she changes everything about herself.

But Voodoo Island was made in the fifties, when changing yourself to please a man was what women aspired to!  Miss Adams therefore swears off being a nerd and kisses Gunn, whose main personality trait is being a stunning asshole.  He’s drunk and bitter, and earlier in the movie he tried to hit on Claire, who had to tell him to fuck off about four times before he got the idea.  Later he insults and threatens Adams because her intelligence makes him feel like less of a man.  Apparently one kiss from her completely undoes his PTSD and he’s a better person now.

These two getting together also totally dismisses the healthy and supportive friendship Adams has with Knight, who is not only her boss but has some fatherly affection for her.  He praises her work ethic and tells her that she shouldn’t listen to people who think she’s boring.  I guess we’re supposed to think it’s good that she quits working for him so she can run off with a drunk who’s threatened to slap her, because Gunn will make her life more exciting.

At the supposed climax, the natives (an assortment of ethnic-looking extras who never speak) take the group prisoner, and they are brought before the chief (a white guy in dark makeup), who tells them why outsiders aren’t allowed on the island.  The prisoners are taken to a hut where they are tied up.  One of them is possibly murdered by voodoo, and then the chief… just lets the rest of them leave.  No conditions specified, although it’s implied that the islanders have more voodoo dolls and plenty of pins.  We don’t even find out if they actually made it back.  To get to their boat, the party will have to pass back through the carnivorous jungle without a guide, and once they reach the beach, they’ll have to fix their engine.  It really feels like there ought to have been more of a climax, never mind a denouement. As the credits begin, I was just going, “that’s it?”

The actors are mostly mediocre.  Boris Karloff tries really hard to rise above the material but never gets there, which is understandable when his lines are things like, “no, you fool, they’ll slaughter us to bits!”.  All this badness really is a terrible shame, too, because Voodoo Island’s setpiece monsters, the man-eating plants, are actually incredibly cool.  They never look real, but they’re much more creative than the standard giant Venus’ flytrap.  There’s a thing that wraps long bean-like leaves around a swimmer and drowns her, another than catches its victims with a sticky bulbous stem, and yet a third that folds ferny fronds around prey and digests it!  A movie that made proper use of these monsters would be a great time. I hope the prop people went on to the better things they deserved.

(At the other end of the effects scale are the coconut crabs I mentioned.  These are not actual coconut crabs, but dead specimens of some other, much more gracile species.  This, too, is unfortunate, because coconut crabs are living crustacean nightmares capable of killing and eating seagulls.  One theory about Amelia Earhart’s ultimate fate is that she was devoured by coconut crabs.)

As for Voodoo Island having anything to say… it has some kind of muddled point about not dismissing the supernatural out of hand, but its ‘magic’ is pretty lame, and Knight’s arc is handled so badly that it passes by without making much of an impression.  The story does seem to have another possible theme, though.  As usual I can’t tell if this is intentional or not, but Voodoo Island seems to have something to say about concepts of ownership.

The hotelier has taken an interest in the island because he did an inventory of his properties and discovered he owned it. How he came to do so, we have no idea… it must have been sold to him by somebody else who’d likewise never been there, since the tribal chief tells us that Mitchell and his companions were the first white men to ever go there.  What made that person think they owned it?  Does the concept of ownership even mean anything when you don’t know that you own something?  Does owning something entitle you to destroy it?

The natives own the island in the much less abstract sense that they live there.  The chief tells the party that his people went to this island on purpose, because they thought its nasty flora would keep white people from following them there. They want no part of modern civilization, and seem completely unaware that somebody outside their community is claiming he owns this land.  Whether the idea of ‘owning’ land is even a meaningful one to them, we can’t tell. When the Lenape allowed the Dutch to live on Manhattan Island, they probably had no idea the settlers would consider the land exclusively theirs.

These are some things that still need thinking about in the twenty-first century, and if you’re going to watch Voodoo Island do it for that and for the fun monsters.  Even then, you’re likely to be disappointed.

[my-fanfic-library]

Something Different {BBC Dracula x Reader} [2]

Masterlist

~^*^~

His wicked eyes were set on your form. You were trying hard not to quiver under his heated gaze. How had he managed to get out? Did he have to rip his way out of that cell or was he allowed to walk free for some unknown reason? Not that the answer to those questions even mattered. A 6’4” vampire who had openly discussed your influence on his appetite was standing before you.

Should you flee? How does one overpower a vampire, anyhow? You had read in the account and heard it right from his mouth that Dracula could turn into certain creatures. It would take one shift of him into the black, beastly wolf for him to hunt you down with ease. You’d never even make it back up the slipway.

Your mind pounded and the indication that your heart was doing summersalts came to your attention as Dracula audibly took in a breath. He hummed in satisfaction as he released your scent. He knew he had managed to catch you completely off guard.

Within your bag, your phone began to vibrate and Dracula looked accusingly down at it. You bit your lip, fingers delving in to grab the decode and quickly answer.

“[First]?” Zoe’s voice rang through your ear.

“Zo-Zoe...” your lips trembled and it had nothing to do with the cool sea breeze.

“They let him out. They let Dracula out!” Her voice was in a similar state of panic and you knew it was because she was one of the only other people in the world who knew of his capabilities.

“Zoe, I-“

“Apparently he has a lawyer! Can you believe it?! Anyway, you need to be careful. He seemed to take a liking to you during the time you spent with him today. Promise me you’ll look after yourself.”

“Zoe-“

“Promise me, [First]-“

“It’s a little bit too late for that...” you trailed off, eyes locking with the man’s towering above you.

“How do you-... Where are you?!”

You had no chance to reply as cool fingers brushed against your own. You watched in horror as Dracula snatched the device from you and lifted it to his own ear.

“Dr. Van Helsing, how nice to get into contact... yes I know... trust me, I know... I suppose you could say it is a curiosity of sorts. It’s mere curiosity... what am I doing it for? Something different. Don’t bother us again, we’re busy.”

You could hear Zoe’s desperate pleas on the other end of the phone but Dracula had already figured out how to end a phone call and that was that.

“Absolutely amazing...” he breathed, turning your phone through his fingers as he inspected it, “they gave me a larger one in the Foundation. Did you know you can do practically anything on these little things? And it must be enchanted, considering it can deliver your voice to someone else so far away.” The wonder held in his eyes as he spoke made him seem almost human. Almost.

“Yes, I knew that...” you began, voice slow and as steady as possible, “but it’s not enchanted, it’s electric.”

“Electric...? How curious...”

“What is it that you wanted, and don’t just repeat your answer.” You folded you arms, trying to remain composed but your mind was whirring with the thought that this may be your last moment or two alive. If he really had decided to choose you as his next meal...

He sighed, an agitation growing deep in his chest. One of the only things he had ever craved so deeply was company. Most humans that he had interacted with were dull, cardboard cutouts of one another. Over 500 years of the same specimen got old and fast. There had only ever been a handful of humans that satisfied his thirst for something other than blood - good company. And Jonathan Harker, Sister Agatha Van Helsing and her descendant Dr. Zoe Van Helsing had been the only ones to peak his curiosity. But hours ago, when you had come in with a front of iron, and a poorly hidden core nothing short of anxiety-ridden, you had peaked this curiosity once more.

The sea groaned away in the distance and the seagulls had decided on steering well away from the undead figure on the sand. It was much more quiet, much more intimate and grew much more darker with every passing moment. Dracula’s eyes seemed locked on you, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to read between the lines of your stoic gaze up at him.

“What would you like my answer to be, [First]?” He inquired softly.

“Truthful, for starters.”

“Alright. You see, after 5 centuries of the same old types of people, one becomes accustomed to those who flee and quiver at the mere sight of a beast such as myself. I will never forget the day I made my entrance at the nunery Sister Agatha resided at.” At the mention of this woman’s name, you noticed a tenderness fill his voice and a small smile threatened the corners of his lips. A spark of wonder lit up in your chest. Had a cold, ancient, blood drinking beast grown a soft spot for one of the only people to put him in his place? His eyes glazed over momentarily and he seemed to look right through you.

“You still haven’t answered the question and you’re about to drool at the thought of this Sister Agatha.” You rolled your eyes. He immediately snapped out of it and there was a low rumble emitting from his chest for a split second.

“I like good company. Sister Agatha was good company. She was inquisitive and intrusive of my routine. While she lost our personal battle, she most certainly won my attention.” He looked down at you and noticed goosebumps rising on your skin. The sky was darkening even more and the navy had stretched out and was almost kissing the horizon, “goodness it’s late for a mortal, isn’t it?” His eyes glossed over the North Sea that expanded far into the horizon.

“Count Dracula?” You spoke, “are you going to kill me - or are you waiting for me to submit myself to you?” You has to ask. You needed to know if your life had reached its expiration date.

“Hm? Oh, not at all.” He looked down and then back towards you, a most wicked and mischievous grin taking hold over his features, “whilst I do enjoy a little food play every now and again,” he stepped forward and his right hand came up to cup your face delicately, “I have no intention of feasting upon you. Not yet, at least. Your scent alone is intoxicating. But your wit, your strength and your character are making me so very interested in you, Miss [First].” He stepped forwards, beginning to close the already small gap between you, “no, I think I’m going to have to keep an eye on you, young lady.” He spoke gently, eyes now boring down into your own. His orbs glistened in the moonlight, “I want to see just what you’re capable of.” He whispered.

“Maybe another time.” You suggested. Your eyes flitted up to the moon and back to him, “if all of this vampire lore is real, surely you should be off to your Transylvanian Earth to protect yourself?”

“And why would I do that?” He scoffed.

“Because it’s a full moon and that means werewolves.”

At the mere notion, the Count could no suppress the deep and hearty chuckle that bubbled up from his stomach. His eyes crinkled and his laughter caused him to bare his white teeth, currently blunt and of no means a weapon brandished to hurt you. For a moment, disbelief struck you as his laughs echoed along the beach and he let go of your face to smooth over his jacket. It took another moment for him to gain composure.

“Werewolves - now you’re being ridiculous.” He smirked down at you. He shoved one hand into his pocket.

“So a 523 year old vampire from Transylvania who wants to befriend a human because they’re using scientifically proved tactics to not die as prey and wants to know if there is any more substance to that is totally just mormal but you draw the line at warewolves? The supposed arch-enemy of vampires?”

“It’s ridiculous, I mean, how on Earth would the first warewolf even be created?”

“Well how were you created?” You challenged.

“Well, when a man loves a woman-“ he smirked.

“If you continue to speak, I really will drive a stake right through your chest.” He groaned inwardly at your response.

“I must admit, I do like your flare. You are very much lively, aren’t you?” He cocked his head.

“Livelier than you.”

~^*^~

When you awoke the next morning, you knew that you were in for some serious trouble. Zoe had left you over 30 missed calls, along with a plethora of concerned text messages inquiring about your and Dracula’s whereabouts. Although you could no longer answer for the Count, you found yourself sending a snarky reply that you were currently in bed. This turned out to be a mistake as within 10 minutes, your front door had burst open and Zoe, along with five armed men appeared at the foot of your bed.

You should have known that Zoe of all people would have freaked out over your contact with Dracula - she had been chasing him her entire life. Now he had been found. Not only had he been found, he had somewhat been resurrected and was on the prowl again for food and destruction. And you were a prime target.

After checking your body for bite marks, she began to harass you for every single detail about your encounter with Dracula the previous evening. You told her about him finding warewolf lore ridiculous, the obvious obsession he seemed to have with Sister Agatha, and how he had most likely revealed just a little too much to you about his true intentions. He wanted good company and anyone who rose to challenge him or stand out from the usual screaming meals he usually dealt with was a possible target for his attention.

“I don’t get it... I mean, I kind of do, it must be lonely to have everyone be afraid of- no I don’t get it.” Zoe sighed, “he’s an unnatural predator. Everyone is meant to be scared of him. A lion would never go for a snake because the snake would never be afraid of a lion. It wouldn’t even pay the snake any attention whatsoever! It would go after a zebra or something. So why is Dracula so focused on the snakes...”

“Thank you for insinuating that I am a snake, Zo.” You rolled your eyes.

“Not just you, but it seemed Jonathan Harker was a snake in Dracula’s hunting ground as well as Sister Agatha... I am said to look just like her, and I take no bull crap from him either...” You could tell she was losing you as she drifted off into a train of thought, “you’re going to have to cater to Dracula. We need to know what makes him tick.”

“What? So you’re going to use me as bait to do your little experiments on him?” You frowned.

“You said yourself he doesn’t intend on harming you.”

“Yeah, because a vampire never lies, huh, Zoe?”

“Please, [First]. I promise you we will do everything to keep you safe.”

“You better have a whole S.W.A.T. styled team on my ass at all times, Zo.”

“Only the best for my favourite assosicate.” Your ease to obey her wishes and commands caused a smile to break out on her features.

~^*^~

Walking along the pier, you allowed the hot summer breeze to ruffle your hair and cool your hot skin a little. Looking to your right was the Abbey perched high on the cliffs. You could make out some forms of the last tourists enjoying their visit. The sun had yet again sunken well below the horizon and your heart thumped in your chest. You anticipated a certain undead male’s arrival at any moment. It wasn’t that you had invited him out, but you knew that if he had become attached to your scent, he’d find you.

It was only a matter of time before he did find you. And you dreaded that moment.

[akechicrimes]

You have the best takes and I was wondering what an actual Akechi redemption would look like? Sending him to prison is a weird take I've seen considering the themes of power, corruption, and manipulation of youth, and quite frankly it's just boring and lazy from a plot/character standpoint. I imagine the first step would be talking to Futaba and Haru (and others who were affected by his actions) but I'm not sure what would happen after that.

ok firstly THANKS i do my best yellin into the tunglr void

second “Sending him to prison is a weird take I’ve seen considering the themes of power, corruption, and manipulation of youth, and quite frankly it’s just boring and lazy from a plot/character standpoint” is the SEXIEST sentence ive ever read re: goro and thank you for putting these words in this particular order i want it framed, truly it makes zero sense whatsoever

third thanks for this super duper cool question because weirdly enough i havent…………….. really thought about it before??? ive seen more than a few really interesting goro redemption arc fics but if i were gonna do one myself………………….. hmmmmmm

ok ok ok ok ok ok i will. do my best. big psuedo revisionist fanfic under cut

a redemption arc needs to address the wrongs and hurts that he’s done, as well as just generally other noxious junk. to rattle them off so we know what we’re working with, he

killed wakaba (unknown circumstances), which hurt futaba

killed okumura, which hurt haru

assisted shido in his rise to power

assisted an unknown number of other douchebags like shido in their rise to power

killed an unknown number of other douchebags

created psychotic breakdowns, involving casualties and potentially some deaths

was generally a shit on live television

lied to sae.

betrayed joker.

and from there he needs to address these in such a way that his character grows and is better for it.

simultaneously i think it’s important to weigh the opposite issues, which are the ways that akechi is either right or has a valid point, the ways that akechi has presumably been mistreated/abused by people around him, and just generally following through on seeing akechi become happier and healthier for having gone through a redemption arc. in no particular order, he:

apparently desperately craves approval/recognition from others, but not in a productive way (sorry the TV audience does not actually love you lmao!!!!!!!)

has some kind of complicated relationship with shido to say the fuckign LEAST, and i think addressing that angle of shido’s abuse is important

really suffers from his inability to be honest with just about anyone; how deeply he’s hidden his true self has not only exacerbated his loneliness, but it’s done so in a way that i think should be really understandable to any one of the thieves, who also need to hide their true selves and feelings when in public

is 100000% correct about how much shido should eat shit and die

does have a valid point about how dangerous the phantom thieves are, and, in irony of all ironies, probably is a good critic and moral barometer to make sure joker doesn’t go over any lines

is canonically the character who is most unafraid to go against joker’s orders

is smart all absolute FUCK while maintaining an attitude of FUCK COPS

so with all that in mind:

i’d say, the engine room confrontation happens as SOON as they enter shido’s palace. not necessarily specifically in the engine room, but that confrontation happens off the bat. the phantom thieves take two steps into shido’s palace and find that they can’t go anywhere–everything’s locked, or off limits, and the whole place is under more surveillance than any palace they’ve ever seen. sojiro was right when he said that shido’s paranoid as fuck.

they try to leave the palace for the day to regroup, and akechi’s there like a guard dog ready to defend shido’s psyche. why wouldn’t he be? he must have planned that perhaps the thieves would retaliate like this, whether or not joker was alive.

that whole very embarrassing breakdown happens. haru and futaba already canonically seem in favor of akechi rejoining the team, so although haru does say she won’t forgive akechi, i do think that doesn’t need to be at odds with them being in favor of him working with the team.

so, say, akechi’s on the verge of being convinced to work with the team, and he’s not necessarily all in on this whole “being alive” thing, and he’s not super convinced that he deserves redemption, but the phantom thieves really really really insisted, because the phantom thieves can and do change hearts, even when they’re not in palaces, and they’ve just changed akechi’s. 

cognitive akechi doesn’t show up because i’m using him later.

first thing: akechi, haru, and futaba need to have a talk, which is actually pretty easy and not even irrelevant. go through shido’s palace, get the letters of rec, everyone recognizes akechi. like haru in okumura’s palace, akechi’s practically their ticket into half the ship.

getting the letters of rec naturally brings up okumura and wakaba, imo, because it hammers home that these sorts of scumbags are the kinds of people that akechi was killing. and also that this is the kind of scumbag that okumura was, in life. have haru go through the five stages of grief all over again, like she did back in okumura’s palace, realizing that her father kills his own employees for the first time. have her struggle all over again to reconcile the father she loves with the father who died with the father who murdered and exploited and drove his employees to the brink of death. have akechi face that even the people he killed were people, too.

depending on your interpretation of wakaba, she was either just as corrupt OR she was genuinely a nice woman, but that can be addressed in a bunch of ways–akechi didnt know what he was doing at the time, or he totally did but didnt feel like he had any other choice–either way, some sort of contextualization of wakaba’s role in shido’s conspiracy needs to be unearthed. 

say futaba wants to know what her mother was like. say she asks akechi because akechi knew her, maybe knew wakaba better than futaba ever did, because futaba was young and also because futaba never spent a few days literally crawling through her mother’s psyche like akechi did. make akechi tell futaba about the woman he killed with his own mouth. maybe he tells her only the good parts. maybe futaba MAKES him tell her the bad parts. maybe futaba thanks him for it, and akechi figures out that an apology could never be enough.

the point, basically, is to use shido’s palace to have haru, futaba, and akechi come to terms with each other. forgiveness isnt necessarily the point–understanding is more important. haru and futaba come to understand how and why akechi did what he did, while akechi has to sit through several weeks of looking his victims in the eyeballs.

for extra bonus points of making akechi look his victims in the eyeballs, personally i think that futaba would be the most supportive of all the phantom thieves of akechi turning over a new leaf. she canonically tells him that “it doesn’t matter where you start over” and relates his struggles to her struggle to turn her own life around, and honestly i think sympathy would fuck akechi up the most.

meanwhile, in the real world, capitalize on akechi’s position: if he’s deep in shido’s conspiracy, it really only makes sense that akechi could locate the people they need rec letters from in the real world, and use that to find their cognitive equivalent in shido’s palace. show me akechi’s relationship with shido, founded on akechi trying to appease shido and trying to avoid shido’s wrath simultaneously. 

maybe shido’s closing in on the phantom thieves in the real world. he suspects that things haven’t gone according to plan. make use of the fact that shido trusts (to an extent) akechi’s word, and have akechi cover for the phantom thieves in the real world. 

maybe show me shido actively manipulating akechi with praise. show me the greys of that relationship, like how we saw madarame treat yusuke well, or saw sae at her best and worst with makoto. show me how difficult it is for akechi to continue to help the phantom thieves even while actively engaging with his own abuser.

make akechi a traitor to shido. being a traitor was his role, wasn’t it? to betray the thieves? just have him betray shido back. he’s good at being a traitor, isn’t he? akechi probably volunteers himself for the role. let him capitalize on his ability to lie and outsmart those around him. let him make it up to joker in the only way that akechi feels he can: even more lying.

get all the rec letters. akechi himself hands shido the calling card. confront shido–cognitive akechi is there and just as much of a bitch as always. show me how much disdain shido has for akechi, how little he thinks of akechi, how nasty he is–and how blindly adoring cognitive akechi is in return. it’s gross as all hell, but it’s a final nail in the coffin to haru and futaba’s grieving process, even forms some sort of solidarity. 

there’s half a second where akechi is in the position to kill shido. shido’s shadow is down, akechi’s got a gun, he could pull the trigger before anyone could stop him. futaba tells him not to. 

haru tells him that he can kill shido if he wants to.

everyone’s like HARU??? HELLO???? but haru says, as far as i’m concerned, this man is just as much my father’s murderer as akechi-kun is. if you want to, i won’t stop you. but i know that it’s harder to survive than it is to die, too.

akechi does not kill shido. they steal shido’s treasure and return to the real world.

at this point in the canon plot, yaldabaoth starts to happen really fast, but bear with me for five seconds–bring sae back on the scene. shido confesses, and akechi’s reputation goes up in smoke. people call him a fraud, people won’t stop talking about shido being his dad, akechi’s name gets dragged through the mud worse than back when the PT were at their most popular.

sae takes up prosecuting shido’s case, and akechi can’t avoid her forever when he’s supposedly a key witness. sae says, i’m going to give you one chance to explain yourself. you lied to him, you tricked me, you pretended to be my partner all that time and then ran rings around me. talk.

so akechi explains himself, even though half that stuff isnt permissible in court. he doesn’t butter her up and he doesn’t use his cutesy prince mask, and for the first time sae sees him as he really is. and sae says, those are some pretty serious offenses, akechi, what are you going to do now? 

akechi’s just gone through that whole bonding session with haru and futaba, during which akechi had to realize, ah, shit, i fucked over the lives of these two very nice girls and even inflicted the same trauma that i myself went through onto other people. so akechi tells sae, well obviously i don’t fucking know, i dont have a career, i might be expelled, and i’ve killed a shitload of people and there’s no way that i can make up for that. but if i could, i would want to do something to right the wrongs that i did–i’d want to address the murders i committed, and maybe do something to fix it.

sae says, you’re smart as all hell, what you’ve done is irrevocable, you know your way around the police and its corruption, you’re willing to do better and you know how hard doing better is going to be. i’m the same way. i might not have killed anyone, but i’ve ruined the lives of so many people in the name of my career and a distorted sense of justice. if you want to do better, i could use a person like you. what do you say that when this case is over, we become partners for real, this time?

akechi says, but sae-san, what about your reputation, what about your career, wouldn’t it be bad to have a fraud like me by your side?

sae says, i didnt have you as a partner the first time around because you were stupid. use your head, make it work, and maybe i’ll buy you sushi off the conveyor belt someday.

case number one is prosecuting the shit out of shido. sae said they’d be partners after akechi is no longer a key witness, but at this point, being a key witness is basically like being her assistant. sae’s there every step of the way while akechi gets shoved through the public wringer. i say, make him lose all his public fame and reputation and more, everything that he thought he wanted, and he come out with sae’s respect, akira’s support, and the phantom thieves on his side.

the trial starts to stall because of yaldabaoth’s influence, which then brings us to that whole reveal about yaldabaoth using akechi as well for yaldo’s own ends. yaldabaoth offers the p5 vanilla bad end, in which the phantom thieves continue on and become incredibly famous and eliminate most crime because they just change the hearts of anyone who does anything halfway wrong.

i say, let the thieves deliberate on that one. all of them, not just joker. it’s not actually a very bad deal, necessarily; it’s just vaguely skeevy and authoritarian. let’s say, akechi is the biggest opposer, and points out that if akira goes down that route, akira will be doing exactly the same thing akechi did for so long–using his power for his own self-satisfaction, power unchecked and out of control. let akechi use the fact that he’s akira’s “rival” and outspoken critic to good use. akira tells yaldo where he can stick it.

fight yaldabaoth, win. sae takes akira into custody. akechi makes good on his deal with sae, and both of them work together to use akechi’s testimony, akira’s testimony, and shido’s testimony to nail shido and clear akira’s name. 

from there, flash forward to the epilogue in the same way that it happens in canon, except akechi is now sae’s lackey and she’s overseeing his efforts to undo whatever damage he did to all the nameless people he’s hurt over the years. she’s going to become a defense attorney, and akechi’s probably going to become her assistant and later paralegal. both of them are committed to reforming the justice system for the better and addressing their past wrongs.

im actually big fucking mad at how little i had to change about persona 5 canon to make this redemption arc work. @ persona 5 royal meet me in the pit.

[gildedmuse]

SWORD: A Kenshi To English Phrasebook

Take Two.

Again, understanding the language of swordsman is all about context. Let's take this situation.

Summation: You remember how you were in hiding from the government for like over a decade? Yeah, hope you retained all those skills. You gonna be needing them.

The premise here is that people are going to come after Robin for her ability to read the Poneglyphs and not just to hang out with Actual Deity Nico Robin, which I think is pretty absurd. Like, of all the reasons to kidnap Robin - and I'm not saying there are none! - the Poneglyph thing is not in my top ten.

...

I've never kidnapped anyone.

ANYWAY, being told that you're about to be the target of some of the richest, most powerful people in the world must be fairly upsetting. Let's see how Robin takes that news.

Oh, that's right. She got that Robin Chill™.

"Excuse me, giant Cat Monster King, I think you'll find these idiots were willing to declare war against the World Government. That's the Government of almost the entire World. I mean, if anything it's going to be amusing to see them try and kidnap me. I wish them luck."

And now we get to compare those reactions.

I love you, but you would kick anyone's butt for almost any reason. You would kick anyone's butt for lunch. If you told Luffy that Zoro was keeping meat from him, Luffy would immediately slingshot himself across this cave and kick Zoro's ass. And like, they are besties. Not gonna save Zoro from the impending ass whooping.

But also I love how everyone knows how real the compliment is because it's Robin saying it. Luffy's usual reaction to compliments is "Hmm? Am I?" But if Robin says it, you know it's serious.

Unless it's about cannibal tribes. Do not trust this woman when it comes to cannibals.

"What? I didn't take that as a compliment. In fact, you shouldn't even trust me to keep you safe. Appro if nothing here are some new karate moves I've been practicing."

Turns out it's really easy to speak Reindeer.

"They can take Robin-san away over my dead body. Except... I'm already dead."

"Yohohoho!"

No, I'm not going to stop.

I was going to say that I love Franky's energy and commitment here, but then I literally always love Franky's energy and commitment. This man does not do anything where he hasn't packed fireworks just to show his level of energy and commitment.

But seriously, because I'm sort of a FrankyxRobin person, I couldn't help but notice that everyone else is like "Yeah, I'll totally protect you" while Franky is over here legitimately announcing to this whole cavern, "Yo, [City Name], I'm Franky and I am here to do anything for Nico Robin! Just anything! Coupon Does Not Expire."

I feel like if the rest of the crew did not think these two were in a relationship they probably do now.

(I'm also pretty cool with RobinxZoro and RobinxNami, not that it's relevant.)

[Oh wait it totally is]

Okay, so first, good energy from Usopp although I think we just witnessed why Franky might have an issue with the "no touching" rule. It's just... It's going to make their relationship very difficult.

Sex, Usopp. I'm saying your Team Parents are having sex.

Second...

I mean... Damn.

Nami rising from a pit of flames. "Look, Robin, I know these losers have all sworn to protect you, but let me just say, I am the only one here with the goddamn balls to commit willful homicide in your name."

"Love you bestie. xx"

Also, is it weird that I'm more attracted to Nami knowing she is full ready to rob a corpse. I mean, I always figured she'd rob a corpse. Survivor types don't tend to get caught up on those types of details. Her, Jewelry Bonney, and Trafalgar Law; they are all pretty prepared to steal off a dead man. In the first two cases, don't even need that solid a reason. Law is probably saving that one for a rainy day. Some point in the future when he needs it to survive.

Nami and Bonney, they see a corpse and their first instinct is, "Does he still have his wallet? Not anymore. Sucker." And that is what I love about them.

And Now For Our Swordsman

Be honest. You didn't realize this was a gif, did you? Like if I hadn't said anything you'd be all, "huh, weird that she choose to make gifs for every other character and then just used this still frame photo for Zoro."

Nope. That is fully animated. That is the entirety of Zoro's reaction captured in multiple sequenced frames. That gif is made up of 24 different images.

Yeah, well, the important thing is the smile.

See, with a couple exception (like screaming it out while bleeding to death of the deck of a ship cause someone was stupid enough to go after a goddamn Shichibukai not even a full arc into the journey) Zoro's reaction when someone (ie Luffy, it's mostly Luffy) commits the crew to something - something that could very easily end in death - this is Zoro's go to respond.

In Kenshi, Cocky Smile = This sounds like it might be incredibly dangerous. Good. I've got your back, captain.

Or, you know, in this case "They could be sending some really dangerous guys. Good. I've got your back, you strange, morbid woman."

Like I said, it's context.

[Look at my girl smile. She's so happy to have these idiots. These idiots are hers. She has adopted these idiots and she loves them and all their idiocy.]

In case your curious about our other swordsman, he's not pictured. Presumedly because his reaction hasn't actual changed from the last scene ie frowny face. Probably because he's thinking about all the possible added dangers Mugiwara-ya is taking on by keeping this woman on his ship and how that might effect his plans for their alliance. Also, he'd definitely would have kidnap Nico Robin should he have acquired all four shiny Poneglyphs and found out she could read them. So, yeah, best to skip showing his reaction in this otherwise really sweet moment.

[kpop---scenarios]

Collateral (10)

Pairing: EXO x reader 

Warning: Slight Human trafficking, 

Word Count: 1.9k 

The group was speechless as the phone was passed around, displaying Jondae's beaten and bruised body. “Those motherfuckers” Kyungsoo growled. “What do they want?” Lay asks, being the only relatively calm one. You were crying profusely, the picture of Jongdae forever etched in your mind. “Namjoon wants to meet in an hour to discuss details” Suho sighs. “I guess he wasn’t joking when he said Bangtan was coming back" Chanyeol murmurs. “I’m going with you" Minseok states, looking at Suho. “I’m going alone. Everyone stays here, keep watch of the place in case they plan another attack or something” Suho says. “I’m going to head out” “Wait" Sehun yells, running into his room quickly. “Here” he says, handing something to Suho. “It’s a tracker, with a camera and audio. We’ll be watching" he states. Suho nods his head before turning away, walking out the door without a glance back. Sehun and Minseok sat in Sehun's room, watching the camera that Suho had attached to his shirt. They were nervous, along with everyone else. Unfortunately for them that camera seemed to have malfunctioned before they could hear Namjoon’s terms. You paced around the living room for a little bit, before moving to the kitchen and then the hallway. It had felt like years that Suho had been gone. The second you heard the front door open, you eyes shot up to see a conflicted looking Suho walk in. “Well?” Minseok and Chanyeol ask. “They only want one thing.” Suho says, looking around the group. “What is it?” Baekhyun asks. “They want Y/N" he says, all eyes are now on you. “Fuck that, not happening.” Kai snaps, waving his hand. “I’ll do it.” You say, looking Suho in the eyes. “What?” Lay gasps. “I said I’ll do it. It’s my fault they took Jongdae. He’s important to you guys.” You tell them. “You’re important too" Chanyeol says. “Not as important as he is. Look, you’ve all been wonderful to me but I’m not about to let you lose one of your own because you protected me" you say. “You are one of us.” Suho says. “Which is why you’re going to go, but you won’t be alone.” “What do you mean?” you ask. “He wants you tonight. So Sehun get a good working camera and put it on her somewhere they won’t see it. You’ll be doing what you do best, tracking" he says to Sehun. The rest of us will be a few blocks away watching everything going down and ready to fight to get you back.” He says. “Everyone clear?” he asks. The men all nod their heads. “Suit up" he says before everyone disperses to get prepared. “Don’t worry" Suho smiles at you. “We got you" ** Half an hour later everyone is ready to go. Sehun has the camera attached to you discreetly and the rest of the men have their guns, ammo and whatever else they need. Kyungsoo walks out of the basement with a large rocket launcher and a smile on his face. “Is that necessary?” Lay sighs. “Fuck yeah it is" Chanyeol and Baekhyun grin. Your palms are sweaty and your stomach is a bundle of nerves as everyone walks out of the house. You wave to the rest of the guys as you and Suho climb into a car together while everyone else heads for the van. Suho tries to ease your mind during the drive but it really doesn’t work. Your mind races to whether or not they’ll actually come for you. What if they’re too late? What if Bangtan shoots you in the head the moment you step into the house? It was the unknown of what was going to happen to you that scared you the most. Suho pulls onto gravel road about an hour later, only slightly out of the city. He pulls out his phone, sending a quick text, you assume to this Namjoon character to let him know he had you there. He quickly ties a rope around your wrists and puts a rag in your mouth before taping it. “I’m sorry" he sighs. “I’m going to have to act like I don’t care that I’m giving you up, okay?” he warns you. “But it’s just that, and act.” You gulp and nervously nod your head. You see the front door open, only one light on making the men standing in the door only shadows. “Let’s go" you huff, opening the passenger door. Suho meets you around the car, gripping onto your upper arm, tightly. He drags you behind him, letting you pretend that you’re struggling with the ropes around your wrist and the rag in your mouth. “Here, Namjoon" Suho spits, shoving you towards an angry looking man. “You don’t seem too bothered by this" Namjoon chuckles. “I would have thought you’d grown attached to her. She really is such a pretty little thing" he smiles, caressing your cheek. “She’s been more of a pain in my ass. Good fucking riddance. She’s your problem now" Suho spits, turning, he gives you a quick sympathetic look before his face goes stone cold again. Namjoon grabs your arm just as Suho did, dragging you inside. This time you really did put up a fight. You didn’t want to go. You were terrified. Once you’re in the house, the door slams behind you. “Strip her, Yoongi" Namjoon orders. A smaller man with a face made of stone walks towards you with a pair of scissors. He doesn’t hesitate in the least to cut your shirt off easily despite you trying to push him away. When he’s discarded your shirt, he unbuttons your jeans as someone behind you holds you still. The tears you were trying so desperately to hold back began to fall. “Don’t worry, we won’t kill you right away. A pretty girl like you should have some fun before you die. Load her in the van" Namjoon says, the menacing smile never leaving his face. ** The men watched as Namjoon eyed you up and down, the anger rising in each man watching. They hated that you were in this position in the first place. The moment they heard Namjoon order Yoongi to strip you, they all froze. They hadn’t thought of this as a possibility. What the fuck was he planning on doing with you? “What do we do now?” Minseok asks, panicked. “Load her in the van" they hear, everyone peeking up. “Where are they taking her?” Chanyeol snaps. “Follow the van" they hear Suho come through the radio. “I’ve got Jongdae. Go get Y/N" he orders. Baekhyun starts the van, the tires burning out as he raced towards the driveway that you’d soon be leaving. ** You and Namjoon, along with one other man were placed in one van, as the rest of the men climbed into a separate one. “Can’t take any chances, incase Suho was lying to me and did plan to get you back.” Namjoon explains. Your mind was fuzzy as you tried to comprehend what he had just told you. You definitely felt like you were fucked. The van you were in rips out of the driveway with the second one following not far behind. The two Van’s are the only cars on the road, except for a pair of headlights you now see trailing behind. ** “She’s in the last one. She’s gotta be" Lay exclaims, positive that he saw your shadow. “Are you sure?” Baekhyun snaps. Before Lay can answer the two Van’s split up, forcing Baekhyun to make a split decision. He chose to follow the second van. Your heart sank as you watched the third van, that you knew your saviors were in turn to follow the second van. Your tears continued to flow as Namjoon just chuckled. “What did I say, Kook. I knew they’d try something" Namjoon laughs. “Yup, you called it.” Kooks chuckles with his boss. A few hours later, you pull up to an abandoned building and the terrified feeling you had felt before was much, much worse. “Let’s go" Kook snapped, yanking you from the car. You shivered as the cool night air hit your bare skin. “Where are we?” you asked, hoping they’d give you some kind of answer. “Don’t worry, you’ll have fun" Namjoon smiles. You’re pulled harshly into the dark building, your entire body shivering. You can hear the faint sound of men yelling, from what sounds like below you. You didn’t know what was down there and you didn’t want to find out either. “Please" you cried. “I don’t want to go" “It’s cute you think you have a choice” Namjoon tells you, cocking his head to the side. “Let’s go Jungkook" Jungkook grips your hair, dragging you down a set of stairs, the noise becoming louder. When you get to the bottom of the stairs, you’re pulling through a door into a brightly lit room, with men in suits scattered around cages with almost naked women crying inside. “What is this?” you cry. “Trafficking ring, what else?” Jungkook smiles. “No no no" you cry. “I don’t want to go" you plead. “Please don’t” Instead of answering you, Jungkook drags you to an empty cage, shoving you inside before locking the metal door. “A new submission, gentleman. Seems as though Bangtan have brought a quite stunning young woman" you hear over a P.A system. Within seconds, there’s a flock of men surrounding you, whispering, and eye fucking you. “$60,000” a man yells. “$70,000” someone else yells. The bidding goes on, higher and higher. Its seems as though they like you more the more you cried out, begging them to stop. The total got up too $500,000 before it became quiet, nobody else bidding. “Going once.. going twice..” someone yells before being interrupted. “$1,000,000” a young man yells out, a smirk on his face. “Would anyone else like to bid higher, than Mr. Seo here?” the man asks. The rest of the men shook their heads, unwilling to outbid him. “Sold to Mr. Seo for $1,000,000” the man says, opening your cage, dragging you out and pushing you towards the man who had just purchased you. “We’ll be seeing you soon" Namjoon whispered in your ear before walking away. The man who bought you, gripped your arm, pulling you away from the crowd. You were sure you were going to have bruises with how hard each man had grabbed you. Although some bruises seemed to be the least of your worries. Johnny pulled you out of the building before shoving you into a car and getting into the drivers seat. “What are you going to do with me?” you whimper, tired and cold and terrified. “I’m not going to hurt you, unless your precious lover boys don’t agree to my terms.” He says, his eyes remaining on the road. “What terms?” you ask. “I want half of their drug district, in exchange for you.” He tells you. “What about Namjoon?” you ask. “I don’t give a fuck about Bangtan. I did what I needed to do to get what I want” he says. “and you’re going to help me with that.” You stared out the window of the speeding car, wondering if you were worth that much to them. ** The moment Baekhyun caught up to the van, crashing into it, all the boys fled to get you out and to safety. The members of Bangtan in the van barely noticed EXO searching for you, except for one. “She’s not fucking here" Minseok snaps. “Of course she’s not.” Hoseok chuckles. “Good luck trying to find her now, she could be sold to anyone. The men stood up, looking at each other, wondering how they could have let you down so badly. Where were you?

[waywardaardvark79]

Dancing on my Own

Summary: Y/N was an actress on Supernatural, and became close with the boys before her character was killed off. You are attending your last convention and with the help of your best friend Jared, you hope that you are able to confess some long overdue feelings.

Pairing: Jensen X reader, Jared X reader (platonic)

Warnings: language

Word Count: 6,295

Inspired by Calum Scott’s:  Dancing on my Own (lyrics in italics)

        You had just finished making sure that you had everything you would need for your weekend trip and were walking out the door when your phone pinged, alerting you that you had a new message. You pulled your phone from your back pocket and looked down at the screen, one new message from Paddles flashed across the screen and you smiled softly to yourself as you opened it. 

           You stared out the window of the cab, your mind currently in the middle of trying to decide whether or not to go through with your plan. You knew that if you didn't do it Jared would just blurt it out, and although part of you was tempted to just let him do it that way, rip the band aid off style, the other part knew that there had to be a better way. You grabbed your phone and opened up the conversation you were having with Jared. 

            You put your phone away, satisfied with your idea and that you now had Jared to hold you accountable. You knew he would make sure you with through with it. You thought for a moment about sending a certain someone a message, telling him that you needed to talk to him about something but decided against it. You kept telling yourself that face to face was better. The cab slowed to a stop in front of the airport. You climbed out, paid the driver, and walked inside, dead set on ripping off the band aid.  

     You managed to sleep most of the flight, and easily found the car that Jared had sent to pick you up. You loaded your bags inside and were on your way to the hotel when you heard your phone ping. You pulled it out of your bag and noticed that you had two new messages. You opened the one from Jared first. 

      You hesitated a moment before opening the other message once you saw who it was from. You didn't want to sound like an idiot, which seemed to be your specialty when it came to talking to him. 

    You shoved your phone into your purse. Great, why did you have to tell him that you wanted to talk to him about something too? That wasn't the plan, now he was going to expect you to say something. You could see the hotel looming in the distance and your mind raced trying to come up with  something acceptable to tell him if you chickened out, which was very likely to happen.

    The car slowed and came to a stop. You got out, grabbed your bags and headed inside, digging for your phone as you checked in. You had just gotten the key to your room when you fired off two messages to the boys. 

     You sent him your room number, and then stepped into the elevator. You leaned your head against the wall as you waited for the elevator to reach your floor. The doors finally dinged open and you stepped out into the hall to find  your room.

    You had just waked into your room and dropped your bags at the foot of your bed before flopping down onto the bed, moaning a little as you sunk down into the soft mattress.  You had just closed your eyes when you heard a knock at the door followed by a high pitched, "Housekeeping."

   You rolled your eyes, a smile on your face, you knew exactly who it was, "No, thank you. Go away." you yelled out.

   The knock sounded again, "I said housekeeping." the voice said, cracking a little.

  You got up from the bed and padded to the door, quickly flinging it open, "And I said no, thank you." you said, a wide smile on your face as you looked up at Jared.

 Jared pulled you into a hug, lifting you up off of your feet, "I've missed you." he said as he squeezed you tightly into a bear hug.

  "Kinda need to breathe, Paddles." you wheezed out causing Jared to quickly sit you back on your feet.

"So, you ready to go? Jensen is gonna meet us downstairs, and we got an operation to start." he said, looking like a wild eyed kid in a candy store.

"One, no operation talk at dinner. Two, I'm serious Jared, not a fucking word about operations, or band aids, or anything else than can be associated with it. You walked over to your purse and snatched it and your room key up, "Let's go." you said. "And remember." you started before Jared interrupted.

"No operation band aid talk." he said as he dramatically rolled his eyes at you. "You never let me do anything fun." he teased as he held the door open for you.

"I know, I'm just the worst friend ever." you fired back.

Jared slung his arm around your shoulders, "Hey, you're the one that said it." he teased as the two of you made your way downstairs to meet Jensen at the restaurant. 

         You walked into the restaurant, Jensen hadn't made it to the table Jared had reserved yet, so the two of you sat down, Jared sitting down across from you. "So, while he isn't here tell me the plan." he said as he picked up a napkin and started to tear it into small pieces.

"I said no operation talk at dinner, and stop doing that." you scolded as you pointed at the little pieces of napkin that were piling up in front of him.

"First of all, we can totally talk about it because he isn't here. That wasn't in the rules, and I'll clean this up." he said as he continued to rip pieces.

You sighed dramatically, "I'm gonna do a song. I already talked to Rob about it, and it's pretty much set in stone so I can't back out. Plus, you know so I definitely can't back out." you explained.

"A song?" he asked.

"Yes, a song. I mean, I'm pretty sure he'll get the message." you said, as you scanned the room for Jensen.

"What song?" Jared asked, as he turned to see what you were looking at.

"You'll just have to come to the show and find out." you said before spotting Jensen at the door. "Now, no more operation talk." you said as you nodded your head towards the door.

Jared quickly spotted him and turned in his seat to face you, "Fine, no more talk." he said, his eyebrows furrowed when he noticed the strange look on your face. He turned in his seat to see Jensen walking towards the table with a pretty blonde woman on his arm. He turned back to face you, his eyes wide with surprise. "I swear, I didn't know." he whispered, knowing that you were ready to kill him for not telling you that Jensen was bringing someone this weekend.

"Ok, we are just going to pretend like everything is fine, and act like we always do." you said, your emotions currently riding a roller coaster. "You remember the code word?" you whispered.

Jared nodded before leaning across the table to whisper, "I remember the word, but what about Operation Band Aid?"  

"Abort mission." you hissed, just as Jensen and his date approached the table. You quickly straightened your posture and plastered a smile on your face. "Hey Ackles, Bout' time you got here." you said, cringing internally at the greeting.

Jensen sheepishly shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry, just runnin' a little behind." he said, the blonde woman looking back and forth between you and Jared, waiting to be introduced.

Jared cleared his throat, "And this is?" he asked, causing you to kick him under the table. He jumped a little and glared in your direction, "Ouch. Why the hell did you do that?" he hissed.

You returned his glare, "Foot must have slipped." you said.

Jensen looked at you both, waiting for the two of you to get through doing whatever it was that you were doing. "Guys, this is Kelly." he said. "Kelly, this is Jared. He works on the show with me, and this is Y/N." he said hesitating for a moment before finishing, "our really good friend."

You looked over at Jared who was smiling politely at her, and when she turned to you, you said the first thing that popped into your mind, "Sup." you said, instantly kicking yourself. You quickly tried to recover, "Here, just let me get up so you two can sit together." you said as you started to rise from your seat.

Jensen waved you off, "It's fine. You don't have to get up." he said as he motioned for Kelly to sit next to Jared, walking over and pulling out the chair for her.

You made sure that both of them weren't paying attention before turning to Jared, an embarrassed look on your face, "Sup." you mouthed as you shook your head at yourself. Jared bit down on his lip, attempting to stifle his laughter, earning himself a glare from you. You recovered quickly once Kelly was seated next to Jared, telling yourself to just play it cool.

"So, how long have you two been dating?" Jared asked as Jensen was pulling out the chair next to you. You looked over to him, giving him a really, dude look. Jared furrowed his brows at you, not understanding what you were mad about.

"Not very long." Jensen sat as he sat down.

Before anyone could say anything else the waiter came to the table and took everyone's order. You looked down at your hands, trying to think of something to say because at the moment everyone was sitting in awkward silence. You cleared your throat hoping that Jared would get the hint and start talking about something.

Jared looked at you, trying to decipher your message, "You know I, uh, I went to the zoo and uh, saw some really awesome aardvarks." he said, the tone of his voice creeping higher towards the end of his sentence so that it sounded like a question. You gave a quick shake of your head, telling him that it wasn't time for a code aardvark. He nodded, catching onto your gesture, and turned to Kelly,  "So, umm, Kelly, what do you do?" he asked.

"I'm an aspiring actress." she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she did so. Jared started to talk to her, trying to engage her in conversation, leaving you and Jensen sitting next to each other in silence.

"You said you had something you wanted to talk to me about." he finally said, breaking the silence.

You shrugged your shoulders, "Nah, it wasn't important." you said, not having time to have come up with something better. "What did you want to talk to me about?" you asked, turning to face him.

"I was gonna see if you could hang out with Kelly while we are doing panels, and maybe she could sit with you at the concert." he said, your brain basically short circuiting at the request.

Jared quickly jumped in, "She can't!" he blurted, everyone's attention soon turning to him. "She, uh, we...we got some stuff to do. She...She has some stuff to do for me while we're doing panels and she is singing at the concert so she won't be in the audience." he rambled out, a satisfied look on his face that he came up with it so quickly.

"You're singing?" Jensen asked, a little surprised. He had tried to get you to sing with him a few times, but you always turned him down.

You shrugged your shoulders, "Yep." you said, popping the p. "Just figured since this was probably my last convention and all." you said.

"Last convention?" Jensen choked out.

"Yeah, I mean they killed me off halfway through the season so, you know." you said, as you scanned the restaurant, looking for the waiter. "Probably shouldn't just be hanging around at these things anymore." you said, giving him a tight lipped smile.

"That doesn't mean you can't still come and hang out." he rushed out, nervous that you were serious. "Tell her, man." he said to Jared, hoping that he could talk some sense into you.

Jared threw his hands up in front of him, "I've told her like a hundred times already." he said.

Jensen looked over at you, a hurt look on his face, "You weren't gonna tell me that you weren't coming back?" he asked.

You glanced over at Jared, "I, uh, I just didn't think it was that big of a deal. I mean, I figured you already knew." you quietly said.

Jensen was about to reply when the waiter finally appeared and sat everyone's food in front of them. You released the breath you were holding, and quickly picked up your fork, thinking that if your mouth was full then you wouldn't have to talk. The rest of the meal went on in an awkward silence, someone throwing out a bit of small talk here and there to break the silence. You were getting antsy to get out of there and turned to Jared, clearing your throat, "So, you said you saw some aardvarks at the zoo." you said, stressing the word aardvark.

Jared quickly chewed the food that was in his mouth and swallowed, "Yes, I did, and speaking of something I saw, I, uh, saw something that I needed your help with....back in my room." he stammered out. "So, umm...you think you could come and help me?" he asked before grabbing what was left of his drink and draining it.

You mimicked his action, and quickly drained your own drink, "Sure." you said as you started to stand. "Kelly, it was really nice to meet you." you said to her, smiling politely before you turned to Jensen. "Guess...I'll see ya tomorrow Ackles." you said as you pushed your chair to the table.

Jared pulled out his wallet, "Here, dinner is on me." he said as he threw his card down on the table. "Just make sure I get that back." he said to Jensen as he pushed his chair in. "See you guys later." he said as he waited for you to make your way around the table. He threw his arm around your shoulders and gave Jensen and Kelly a little wave before turning to walk out of the restaurant with you.

        The two of  you walked to the elevator and when the doors closed you sighed, "Jesus Christ, that was fucking awkward." you said as you looked up at him.

"Y/N, I swear I didn't know. He never mentioned anything about her to me." Jared said, feeling bad that you were surprised that like.

You shrugged your shoulders, "Eh, it's ok. It's probably for the best anyway." you quietly said, counting down the seconds in your head until the doors would open and you could go curl up in your bed.

"You want to hang out for a little bit? My room is a couple doors down from you. We could watch garbage tv, and eat junk." he said, trying to cheer you up.

"Dude, we just ate, and I don't know, I kind of just want to go to sleep." you said just as the doors opened. You looked up at Jared who was currently looking down at you with concern on his face, "Don't worry, Paddles, I'm completely fine. I'm just tired from the flight." you lied, hoping that he would just drop it.

"Ok, but if you need me, you know where I am." he said pointing to his own room, as the two of you stood outside  your door.

"I know, but trust me, I'm fine. I'm just gonna get some sleep." you said before giving him a gentle pat on the arm. You opened  your door and stepped inside, "Hey, thanks for the save back there. I'd be lost without you, Paddles." you said, the corner of your mouth turning up to form a half smile.

"Anytime." Jared genuinely said. "I'll see you tomorrow." he said before turning to walk to his own room .

You closed the door and walked to your bag to grab something to change into. You had been laying in bed, flipping through channels for about an hour when you heard a knock at your door. You got up and looked through the peephole before opening it. Jared was standing in front of you with what looked like the entire contents of the mini bar, "You're gonna regret that." you said as you stepped aside to let him into the room.

"Probably, but I figured you needed it." he said as he dropped everything on the bed.

"That's an understatement." you said, as you picked up a bottle and climbed into bed. "I mean, I can only blame myself though. I never said anything, and it's not like he was gonna wait around forever to decipher my hidden clues." you said before bringing the bottle to your lips.

Jared plopped down next to you on the bed before grabbing a bottle for himself, "I just didn't see it coming. I mean, the way he always talks about you..." he trailed off.

"Can't do anything about it now." you said as you tossed the remote to him.

"Well, I mean you could." he said, as he flipped through the channels.

"Don't even go there. I'm not going to say anything to him and neither are you. Operation Band Aid is no more." you said before taking another drink.

Jared sighed dramatically, "It didn't even have a chance."

"I'm serious. We are forgetting all about this. It is never to be brought up again." you said, giving him a pointed look.

"Fine." he said, obviously annoyed that you were giving up so easy. He glanced over at you and noticed the distant look in your eyes, "So, how awful was Kelly." he said, trying to cheer you up.

You chuckled before dramatically flipping your hair over your shoulder, "What do you mean? I'm clearly totally awesome." you said in a Valley Girl voice.

Jared laughed before flipping his hair, "Like, duh, I'm an aspiring actress, obviously." he said, mimicking your voice.

   The two of you went back and forth doing really bad impressions of her, and drinking the contents of Jared's mini bar. Jared's head had ended up in your lap and you were braiding his hair when a knock sounded at your door. "Who the fuck could that be?" you asked as you finished the braid you were working on.  Jared sat up and you burst into a fit of giggles, pointing to his head, "You look so good right now." you wheezed out before climbing out of bed and walking to the door. You opened the door, not even bothering to check who was on the other side first, to see Jensen standing before you. "Ackles!" you yelled before turning back to Jared. "It's Jay." you said to him.

Jensen poked his head into your door to see Jared laying across your bed, "I, uh, I'll go." he said, thinking that he was interrupting something.

You grabbed onto his arm and pulled him inside, "Don't do that." you said as you poked your head out into the hall and looked in both directions. "Where's Shelly?" you asked. Jared, who was now sitting up in bed, threw his head back in laughter. "What's so funny?" you asked as you stepped back into the room and closed the door.

"You said Shelly." he said, his shoulders still shaking.

"Did not." you spat out, as you walked to the bed and flopped down next to him. Jensen was just standing back, still right by the door. "You can come in." you said, motioning for him to come further into the room.

Jared nodded his head, "Yeah, I'll get out of here so you can talk." he said as he stood from the bed, wobbling a little at first. "See you in the morning." he said to you before starting for the door.

You watched as he walked out the door and then turned your attention to Jensen. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything." he said.

You shrugged your shoulders, "You didn't. We were just hanging out." you said. "You can sit down if you want to." you said as you adjusted the pillow behind your head. You watched as he walked to the small chair across the room. "Everything ok?" you asked, wanting to know what he was doing there.

"Yeah, it's fine...everything is fine." he said, not very convincingly.

"You're not a very good liar." you said, as you kicked some of the empty bottles to the floor.

Jensen looked up at you, "You really aren't going to come to these anymore?" he asked.

"I don't know, probably not. I mean, it's not like there is a line of people demanding to see me, and I've got to start looking for a new job pretty soon, anyway." you said. You saw his face fall at your words and you instantly felt bad, "I mean, I'll still talk to you guys and see you when I can. It's not like I'm just gonna disappear off the face of the Earth." you said, hoping that would cheer him up a little.

He slowly nodded his head, "That's gonna be kind of hard for you and Jared." he said, not making eye contact with you.

"Sure, I'll miss hanging out with him, but like I said, I'll still see you guys when I can. It's not like ya'll are gonna miss me that bad." you teased.  

Jensen scoffed, "Pretty sure Jared is gonna miss you." he said, a little bitterly.

"Nah, he'll just make you do everything that I had to do. You'll have to pick up all of the best friend slack." you said.

"Best friend slack?" he asked. "So, you two aren't..." he trailed off before finally chancing a glance at you.

You laughed, "Me and Jared? No. God no. Why in the world would you think that?" you asked as you sat up in bed.

Jensen shrugged, "You guys...I don't know...you guys." he stammered out and you quickly jumped in.

"We're just friends, really good friends. I guess, we can be a little weird sometimes." you said, thinking back on how close the two of you actually are.

"I just thought." Jensen started before his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and looked down at it, hesitating to answer it.

"Go ahead. We can talk tomorrow." you said, giving him an out.

He answered the call and told the person on the other end that he would be right there. "Talk tomorrow?" he asked as he stood from the chair.

You nodded, "Tomorrow." you said as you climbed out of bed to walk him to the door.

             The two of you stood awkwardly in front of each other, neither of you knowing exactly what to do. Jensen leaned down a little to give you a kiss on the cheek, but you moved your head slightly and he caught the corner of your mouth. "Fuck, sorry." you said as you jumped back. "I didn't mean...I didn't know you were gonna do that, and I moved." you blurted out. "I, uh, I'll see you in the morning." you squeaked out, completely embarrassed.

"S-see you in the morning." he said before opening the door and stepping out.

You closed the door behind him and leaned back against it, "You are such an idiot." you said to yourself before walking back to bed. You climbed into bed and pulled the covers up over you, "Of course, he would pick someone like Kelly. You are a total fucking spaz who is having a conversation with herself right now." you said as you flipped off the light. You turned on your side and tried not to dwell on it as you attempted to fall asleep. 

       That morning you were woken up by a loud pounding on your door. You stumbled out of bed and jerked open the door to see Jared standing there with a cup of coffee. "Mornin'" he said, as he pushed the coffee towards you and walked into the room. "So, what happened last night?" he asked as he sat down in the chair.

    "Thanks." you mumbled before taking a sip of coffee. "Oh nothing, Jensen just had this crazy idea that me and you were a thing." you said as you plopped down on the side of the bed.

Jared scoffed, "What? Why would he think that?" he asked.

"I don't know." you sighed. "But I was a total fucking spaz when he went to leave. He did the whole lean down for a kiss on the cheek, but I freaked out and moved, and he kinda got the corner of my mouth, which made me freak out even more." you said. "And now I guess, I get to hang out with Kelly all day while you guys are doing stuff." you added.

"I did tell him that we would grab a quick breakfast with them, but then you are going to be busy doing stuff for me all day." he said.

"You don't have anything for me to do. What the hell am I supposed to do all day?" you asked.

Jared shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, but at least you don't have to hang out with her. Just stay in here, or hang out in the green room. She probably won't be back there." he suggested.

"I don't think that's gonna work. I can't just hang out back there all day when I'm supposed to be doing shit for you. I'll figure something out." you said as you got up from the bed. "Give me a few minutes, and I'll be ready to go." you said as you grabbed a change of clothes from your bag and walked to the bathroom. 

     The two of you were walking out of your room about twenty minutes later, "They are meeting us in the green room. We don't have much time before the first panel." Jared said.

You nodded, "Yeah, I need to talk to Rob about not going up there tonight." you said. "Pretty sure that would be a complete disaster." you added.

"Just do a different song." Jared said as the two of you approached the green room.

"Nah, I'm sure he can find someone else to do it. I don't know what I would do anyway." you said as the two of you walked in the room.

   The room was relatively empty, a few people making sure that it was stocked with snacks, and Rob was over at one side talking to someone. You started to head in his direction to tell him that you couldn't go on later when you spotted Jensen in the corner with Kelly. His back was to you and she had her arms wrapped around his waist. You stopped in your tracks and watched as he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Y/N!" Rob yelled, grabbing your attention. "I was just about to come looking for you." he said as he walked over to you.

"Well, here I am." you said as he pulled you into a hug. "I was actually coming to talk to you about tonight." you said before turning your attention back to Jensen, Kelly's annoying giggle stealing your focus.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." he said.

"Yeah, I'm not... I changed my mind. I don't think I'm going to get up there after all." you said.

"No, no, no. You are not backing out on me now. It's taken forever for you to get up there, and you're doing it." he said, obviously not going to take no for an answer.

You thought for a moment and motioned for Jared to join you. He walked to your side and gave you a puzzled look, "I'm ripping the band aid off." you said to him before turning back to Rob. "I'll do it, but I'm changing the song." you said.

"Hey, whatever you want to do. You got time later to get with me and let me know what you want to do?" he asked, his ringing phone quickly catching his attention.

You nodded, "I'm free all day, just let me know whenever you want to do it." you said before he walked away. You turned to Jared, "This is probably a terrible fucking idea." you said, suddenly doubting yourself.

Jared just smiled down at you, "Rip off the band aid." he said before leading you across the room to grab a quick bite before they had to be on stage. 

              You had got in touch with Rob later that day, and told him the song that you wanted to do. He assured you that it was no problem and that he was really excited for you to get up there. You were standing in your hotel room, nervously checking yourself in the mirror for probably the hundredth time when you heard a knock at the door. You gave yourself one last look before going to answer it.

"You ready?" Jared as when you opened the door.

You let out a slow breath, "No, not really, but no going back now." you said as you shoved your room key into your back pocket and walked out the door. 

   You were standing backstage with Jared, bouncing nervously on the balls of  your feet, "You gonna tell me what song you're doing?" he asked, trying to get you to focus on him instead of the nerves.

"Nope." you said as you nervously shook your hands. "You're gonna stay, right?" you asked, knowing that you would need the moral support.

"Hey, I wouldn't miss it." he said, a soft smile on his face.

"You ready to get out there." someone said from behind the two of you.

You turned to see Jensen, Kelly hanging off of his arm and shrugged your shoulders, "Ready as I'll ever be." you said.

He came to a stop next to Jared, "I'm excited to see it." he said.

Before you could reply you heard the song that was playing fade out, and Rob's voice filled the room. "All right guys, I've been trying to get this person out here for years, and she finally agreed to it. I want you to give a warm welcome to one of my favorite ladies, Ms. Y/N Y/L/N!" he yelled into the mic, and you could feel your stomach start to churn.

You looked up at Jared, "Fuck, I can't do this." you whispered, ready to run and hide.

Jared put his hands on your shoulders, "Rip that fuckin' band aid off." he said.

You took a couple of deep breaths, "Rip the band aid off." you echoed before turning to walk onto the stage.

     Applause thundered through the room as you walked out and waved to the screaming crowd. You grabbed the mic stand and adjusted it before quickly glancing over to see Jared and Jensen smiling at you. You took a deep breath and grasped the mic, "How you guys doin' tonight?" you asked, the crowd screaming back at you. "I know Robbie has been out here hyping you guys up, but I'm gonna take it down a couple of notches, and I hope you guys enjoy it." you said before turning to give Rob a nod, letting him know that you were ready. The beginning notes of the song you had chosen rang out, and you took a deep breath and closed your eyes before singing the first words.

Somebody said you got a new friend Does she love you better than I can? There's a big black sky over my town I know where you're at, I bet she's around

And yeah, I know it's stupid But I just gotta see it for myself

I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, oh oh oh

I'm right over here, why can't you see me, oh oh oh And I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home, ooh I keep dancing on my own

You opened your eyes, looking out at the crowd as your voice grew a little stronger, no longer as nervous as you once were.

I just wanna dance all night And I'm all messed up, I'm so out of line, yeah Stilettos and broken bottles I'm spinning around in circles And I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, oh I'm right over here, why can't you see me, oh And I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home, ooh I keep dancing on my own And oh no

You finally got up there nerve to look over at the side of the stage where Jared and Jensen were standing, both of them intently watching you, Jensen wearing an expression that you couldn't quite place.

So far away but still so near The lights come up, the music dies But you don't see me standing here I just came to say goodbye I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, oh And I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home, ooh I keep dancing on my own And oh no Sit down in the corner, watching you kiss her, oh no And I'm right over here, why can't you see me, oh no And I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home, ooh I keep dancing on my own

So far away, but still so near The lights come up, the music dies But you don't see me standing here

You were so caught up in the words you were singing that you didn't even realize that you were still facing them as you sang the last line and the music quietly faded out. There was a hush over the room as you turned your attention back to the crowd before the room erupted into loud cheers and applause. You nodded your head and placed your hand on your chest, not knowing what to say. You looked over to Rob as he was walking to the mic. "Let's hear it for Y/N!" he said, the crowd going wild. You pulled him into a hug before waving to the crowd and walking off the stage.

Your heart was pounding in your chest as you approached them. "That was...that was." Jared trailed off before pulling you into a hug. "Way to rip off the band aid." he whispered into your ear before letting you go.

You turned to look at Jensen, not even sure where in the world you were going to go from here. I mean, what in the world do you say now? He looked at you with astonishment, slowly shaking his head back and forth as he was attempting to find the words he wanted to say to you. He opened his mouth as if he were going to say something before quickly closing it. "Here's the guy you've been waiting for." Rob's voice boomed through the room before being overtaken by the screaming of the crowd.

You looked to the stage, "Better get out there." you said, with a small smile. Jensen glanced at the stage before turning his attention back to you. "Go, your people are waiting." you teased. He bit down on his bottom lip and looked you over one last time before walking out on stage, your eyes following him the entire time. You turned back to Jared who was standing next to Kelly, "I think, I'm gonna head back to my room." you mumbled. Jared giving you a small nod before pulling you into a hug. You squeezed him back, silently assuring him that you were ok, before pulling back and heading back to your room.

     Jensen finished his set, and rushed back stage, his eyes scanning wildly for you. "She, uh, went back to her room." Jared spoke up. Jensen looked in his direction, "You know, I love you man, but sometimes you are a complete idiot." he said as he walked towards him and clamped his hand on Jensen's shoulder. "I know you feel the same way about her so, you should probably stop being stupid and go get her." Jared said, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Jensen looked up at him, still in shock, his mouth unable to say what he wanted to. "Rich took her to grab a drink. I figured you might need to make a quick escape." Jared said when he noticed him looking around for his missing date. "Go." he said as he gave him a gentle shove. Jensen nodded and quickly took off.

   You had just gotten out of the shower and were toweling your wet hair when you heard a pounding on your door. "Just a minute." you said, but the pounding only grew louder. "Jesus Christ, Jared, give me a fuckin' minute." you yelled out as you stomped to the door. "What the fuck is your problem?" you asked as you flung open the door, your eyes widening in surprise when you saw that Jensen was standing on the other side. "What are..." you trailed off, shocked that he was there.

   "I see you. I've always seen you." he said before crashing his lips to yours. You froze for a minute before your mind caught up with you, and you wrapped your arms around his neck and eagerly returned his kiss.

  You pulled back, your heart racing, "What about...Kelly?" you breathed out.

Jensen looked into your eyes, "You're the girl I'm takin' home." he said before pulling you to him for another kiss, and as you kissed him , you thought to yourself that sometimes ripping the band aid off is the best way to go.

[newx-menfan]

Wolverine #1

 *Spoilers*

 The first story starts somewhere in Alaska, where Wolverine seemingly has killed Jean, QQ, and Domino. He starts tracking foot prints in the snow. 

 Five days before Logan is playing 'hide and seek' with some mutant child, when Jean rats out his hiding spot out...(Not cool, Jean...five year olds everywhere are shaking their heads...) 

Logan meets up with Kitty and she talks about how he seems happy; Logan shrugs it off and asks what is the real reason she is here. We find out a shipment of Krakoa medicine is regularly going missing. 

 In Baltimore, a shabby CIA agent stumbles upon an possible 'suicide' case (in the LEAST looking suicide method possible!) and finds drugs that are clearly the missing Krakoa drugs. 

 Remember how during the 'X-Force' review I said a cult worshipping mutants sounded like a cooler villain than what we got ? I may be getting that wish fulfilled in this book... 

 We find out the petals may have ended up in Russia; Logan sends X-Force down there. (with a non- plant-y Domino, I might add!)

We find out the Baltimore C. I. A. Agent has a sick daughter waiting on those petals for her treatment. 

 Logan's blood is compared to a vampire...(🙄) 

 They track down the cult in Russia, where QQ runs head first to meet his 'followers'...( you would think telepathy would CAUSE HIM see how terrible an idea this is...) ...

Before almost getting eaten by the cult! 

 As the fight ensues, suddenly the cult drops dead- poisoned by the flower they had ingested minutes before. 

 Logan tracks down the dealers that sold the cult the petal laced drugs, in a bar in Moscow; it turns out they are hiding from a pale girl. (I'm going to laugh my ass off if Maxime is the new 'Walter White'! 😂😂) 

 Sadly as we cut forward, we see the 'Pale Girl' as an apparition in the snow (And sadly not Maxime...), just as Logan is surrounded. 

 The second story starts with Omega Red wanting amnesty. (Ugh 😕- I'm going to be upfront- for every GREAT X-Men villain like Magneto, Shadow King, Mystique, Sinister...there's Omega Red, Nanny and Orphan maker, and Sugar Man... Omega Red is one of those villains I just...really cringe and dread reading about every time he pops up in a book. I actually prefer Arcade to him...because at least vintage Claremont Arcade...was entertaining. I've just NEVER really gotten why X-writers use him because he's just such a one note boring villain.)

Logan is about to attack him, when Magneto tells him to essentially knock it off...(Because it totally isn't reasonable to question if he's working for the Russians after the attack on Colossus...) 

 Magneto drops Logan off through a portal to Paris, where Logan finds a trunk full of corpses who were seemingly Omega Red's prey... 

 Back on Krakoa Magneto reiterates the rules of amnesty for all, (There is something HEAVILY wrong with a Jewish character citing Nazi scientists as an example) and tells Logan to investigate it while Red is kept in a cell. 

Logan investigates a bar, (Aka goes to get a drink...) and is sedated. 

We find out that vampires are the culprit, (If the vampire/healing factor drop earlier in the first story wasn't a clue...) and Logan is saved by the mysterious woman/Tyger knockoff selling flowers earlier... 

Back at Krakoa, Omega tells Logan the story of Saint Julien...(How you mistake two old people for your wife sleeping with another man, I will never know 😂😂...Just in CASE anyone reading this review had a prophecy foretold about you murdering someone....the MORAL of this is just DON'T murder people! Don't be to stab happy and it probably WON'T even happen...) 

 At St. Julien le Pauvre, we see the mysterious woman/Tyger knockoff and discover her name is Louise. We find out vampires are using the distraction of Krakoa to rise up...(You got to hand it to vampires...they are at the very least industrious!)

Logan and Louise fall in a pit and get surrounded by vampires...and they all bite Logan. 

 The issue ends with Dracula able to go out in the sun because of Logan’s blood, and using Omega's desire to no longer kill to survive, to have him spy on Krakoa... 

 Opinions:

 Honestly- I found myself regularly putting this issue down and doing other things (Although part of that was Coronavirus/work related!). 

 I found myself also debating about doing a two part review...but honestly, I don't really think I need to. 

 It's just rather mediocre Wolverine stories and frankly I kind of question why Marvel even DID this book when the current X-Men line is already SO BLOATED; other than it's Logan and Logan sells.

 It's sad, because I ACTUALLY DO like Logan when it's good storytelling; but this is a story we've heard from better writers before.

 I'm kind of surprised they did vampires again...since the LAST time the X-Men mixed with vampires we got vampire Jubilee/Cyclops telling Dracula to 'Follow his heart'.... So far...the writing seems to be on the same rather shitty level...but without the, 'So bad, it's great!' moments.... 

 Theories:

 Honestly... I'm probably not even picking up issue #2... This last one was just SO long...and really BORING...

[eirenare]

My TROS experience and thoughts (the good, the bad, a bit of speculation, an “old” WIP drawing, and... hopes)

Putting this under a “read more” because, well... this post is a huge walking spoiler

This morning I woke up really, really early to re-watch TLJ with my brother and do stuff before the hour of watching TROS arrived—I remember almost crying watching TLJ, already almost crying listening to that damn TROS song on Fortnite as my brother played it for a while

I was nervous all day long, honestly. I accidentally stumbled the other day into a hashtag on Twitter called “BenSoloDeservedBetter”, and I was already on edge. A lot. Not to mention that I accidentally saw half a comment somewhere on Twitter saying something that had made me doubt

So, yeah, I basically spent all day trying to give myself hope and reassurance while deeply having ONE FEAR. That was: Ben not surviving

You see, I love with every inch of my being Reylo, but—Ben is my favorite character of all Star Wars. Like, I can’t help it, I have a super soft spot for him

I had, like, super high hopes for TROS, and yeah, I liked the movie... or well, most of it (and I got some things right to my delight and surprise, one of them being the throne with Dark Rey sitting in it, but more on that stuff later)

There were funny moments I enjoyed (Babu Frik, Finn joking about Poe’s past as spice runner, C3PO being C3PO...), the scary/terrorific moments were amazing (gods I love Palpatine’s new appearence, all the Sith and eerie stuff, the whispers, the machinery...), the action/fight scenes were cool overall (Rey and Ben fighting together against their enemies after seeing each other and doing the lightsaber trick was amazing, for example, also the jumps, and I loved seeing all the spaceships together), the imagery was sometimes amazing too (Palpatine sending that enormous lighting to the sky, for example) and the emotional stuff weirdly enough didn’t make me cry but had my heart pounding (Leia’s passing, Han and Ben’s parallel scene, Rey and Ben’s healing scene and their last scene...), not to mention I was gripping tightly my bag and jacket to my lap throughout most of the movie, BUT

B  U  T

The fact that Ben didn’t make it out alive left me very, VERY bitter

I have to say, again, that weirdly enough I just... didn’t cry, even when Rey died, not even when Ben died, and he’s my favorite. Most of the times it happens, that my brain’s kind of... messy, when it comes to emotions (it seems that, most of the time, my brain just goes from “step: something happens” to “step: body/voice reaction” skipping “step: feel” in the middle—... although that usually doesn’t happen if the emotions are negative, which sucks specially if you already feel like you yourself are a mess—), so... yeah

It kind of... Well, the tears didn’t start falling until I was watching the credits with my brother (bless his soul for listening to my rambling, and for granting me multiple hugs, for calling my dear “Ben” instead of “Kylo” now, and overall being so patient with me—I didn’t miss the fact that he was looking at my reactions at some points, like when the Reylo kiss, and then Ben dying, because he knows how much I love them), when it registered that it was really the end, and that yes, Ben was... dead. I kept crying as we watched the credits, and then outside of the theater a bit again, and then at home, and I’m now crying as I write this

Look, I loved the Reylo moments we got even though I wanted some more. And although (as I explained above) I was “numb” almost all the time and even while watching the kiss, I enjoyed it and I could “feel” that I was happy and excited about it because my chest was pounding like crazy and my lips were doing that kind of quivering when you can’t quite contain yourself and you’re emotional

(... Yes, living with this brain of mine is a mess, and I don’t even know if this has always been like this or started at some point, because my memory’s also a good mess—I hate this so much)

But then—then I saw Ben fall backwards and start to disappear, and I went from glee and triumph to “oh no” (also: hello there pit my old friend)

I mean... They just went and killed a character that was trying to do good after a life of strife with himself and what he did and did not do, a character that was just starting to go to the light (to see the light)—a character that’s been all his life marked by the abuse he’s been suffering ever since he was in the kriffing womb, therefore not even allowing him to really live. They basically killed... a symbol of hope

It feels sad and discouraging for me, even though what he did was noble

It just stings. And the fact that Rey didn’t see Ben at the end alongside Leia and Luke, when she adopts the surname “Skywalker”? ... Why. They could’ve added him, but no. Why. And I have to say, while I like a lot “Rey Nobody”, I also like the contrast between her and Palpatine, the subversion of dark and light, that even though darkness runs in her veins, she would still choose the light.

(Also, the totally not serious question my brother and I joke about, though: who the fuck decided to have a crazy night with Mr. Raisin Ass and to give him an “heir”?)

To soothe myself, I like to think that since Ben “vanished” into the Force and became one with it, and that since Rey’s kind of “a host” of the Force (?), he’s now always with her and they can feel each other. I like to think that, sometimes, they’ll see each other, be able to be together if only for brief moments—maybe at night, sleeping, Rey would feel Ben wrapped around her (my feels asdbfkffnggjglg)

(You can bet your ass that I’m abso-kriffing-lutely going to write something about this because I NEED IT BADLY)

Another thing that soothes me is that Ben passed away with the biggest, most beautiful smile on his face, and even though I hate that he died, I’m glad he was able to feel that kind of happiness with Rey and that he was able to join the light side in the end—now, yeah, give me Force Ghost Ben at some point in the future at least,  p l e a s e

EDIT (addition of paragraph) — Also: Ben’s face when he looks at Rey every damn time, Ben running to Rey’s rescue with only a kriffing blaster, again the fight they had and when Rey sent him the lightsaber, and then lifting himself up from the pit with all his kriffing injuries and the pain he must have been enduring to then give up his life to save the love of his life—iconic, badass, a true dork in love whom I adore, the kriffing boss. But you know what I missed A LOT, that I realized I didn’t remember it being in the movie after watching it?? The “I DO”. I don’t think I’ve heard its equivalent in Spanish, and that has me pretty much confused and bitter. Like, wtf? If they let that out:  w h y ?

Kathleen Kennedy pretty much hinted that maybe we’ll see “more Skywalkers” in the future, so, yeah *looks sideways at Rey and her ghost husband* Praying that they’d be in that “Project Luminous” of 2020, or later, but just... be somewhere else more

Something that bothers me, though—is there really a balance in the Force, after TROS? Rey’s lineage may be of dark and she may have taken the path of the light, but does that mean the Force is balanced now, or maybe not...? *scratches head* I don’t know, I need a re-watch and to have some serious thinking of this

As I write this post, I’m trembling almost to a shaking point and my chest is hurting. In all honesty, as much as I love Reylo... If I had to choose between Reylo happening or Ben living, I’d choose Ben living

... Now, it’s gonna hurt so much more reading “The Rise of Kylo Ren”. Oh, dear

If we set aside Ben’s passing, though, regarding how I saw the movie, I’d say that as much as I enjoyed it overall, it kind of felt like... it lacked things. Explanations and a bit more of worldbuilding, for example? More Knights of Ren stuff (although luckily we’re having them in “The Rise of Kylo Ren” alongside their leader, Mr. Hottie McHotHot aka Ren? Maz explaining how she got the Legacy lightsaber? TROS kind of feels, like... a little incomplete to me. I don’t know if to others it feels that way, but it kinda feels like that for me and my brother

Still I’m aware that, well, it HAS to be difficult to end such a story, and that it can’t possibly be easier to fit a lot in a 2h33 movie, you know? It seems... very complicated, and the stakes were high. So yeah, I understand that (while what I don’t take well at all, I don’t think I’ll ever do, is Ben’s death—it was pointless, and the fact that Rey didn’t show too much feeling about it... it feels weird). And well, the junior and non-junior novelizations will come out in March, so I like to think that we’ll get more details in them (like with the TFA and TLJ novelizations)

... And I really, really need a good rewatch of TROS because I’m forgetting a lot of stuff probably. So yeah, next Thursday if all goes well, I should have a ticket to go and watch it again, except this time in English with Spanish subtitles

A funny thing that happened at the theater, by the way, was that a woman hissed in excitement a pair of rows before us “I KNEW IT” when Rey was revealed to be a Palpatine

Also: I really, really hope that Rey doesn’t stay in Tatooine with how much she loves greenery landscape. I hope she went anywhere else that’s green and lush and was able to lead a nice life, to actually live the life Ben granted her, whatever path she would choose to take—and that Ben’s ghost would kind of like, be around her, you know?

Now, there are some things that made me laugh inside, and that is... that I got some stuff right. An example of that is the fact that Rey mentioned seeing herself sitting on that throne, something that happens in my “Rey of Jakku” fic and of which I was doing a WIP the last days of november (look, that happening was the thing least probable in my mind so... lol):

Also the cannon distroying Kijimi, too, and it seems that about the nature of Rey and Ben’s bond too. Also, when C3PO started explaining about the Pasaana festivity it kind of reminded me of how he started explaining the marriage customs in my “arranged marriage in Pasaana” AU. And I don’t remember now because my head’s pretty much a mess and specially right now (and as I said I really need a re-watch), but I think I recognized other things too

TROS wasn’t what I expected, and on the scales it has both its good and its not-so-good things (being the worst of them, for me, Ben’s death—of which I’m trying to cope by thinking what I said of him being literally with Rey now, maybe sometimes being able to see each other and interact), so... it’s a weird mix of me liking the movie while also not enjoying it nearly as much as I wanted to (as I think I should’ve)

Even though I’m super bitter about Ben, however, thank you to all of the team for working hard on the movie—doing the last piece of the Skywalker saga movies sounds everything but easy

Now, looking forward to the future...

I see myself continuing to write and draw Reylo, honestly. Ben’s death has kind of spurred me further to do stuff, so yeah—gonna keep up with my alternate TROS Reylo fic (“Rey of Jakku”), and I’m pumped to attempt writing other stuff, like... trying to write regarding Force Ghost Ben interacting with Rey, or working on AUs (*looks sideways at the “arranged marriage in Pasaana” AU, “Ice-skating” AU and the “padawan Ben meets mechanic Rey in Batuu” AU)

Will also be looking forward with utmost interest at “The Rise of Kylo Ren”, and to see what the merchandising team and the books and comics have to show in 2020—which means I’ll be dying inside all over again when I see Ben and Rey’s last scene, but well *shrugs* The novels are specially interesting to me. I mean, getting to read how these two felt about each other throughout TROS, and specially at the end? Written by Rae Carson? YES PLEASE

Also, if “Project Luminous” happened to have Rey (and even better yet: Force Ghost Ben appearing), I’d be even more interested in it—a lot more

The experience with TROS was a mix of good and not-so-good things, coupled with the One Fear I had regarding Ben (my baby... oh, how that kriffing stings), but still, it wasn’t that bad of an experience in my case

So, yeah... I think I’ll write some more thoughts later, tomorrow or another day when my head’s clearer (probably will write more when I re-watch), but so far, these are my thoughts on TROS

Rest in peace, darling, beloved Ben... </3 T_T